#elite mark 2 frame

[mariacallous]

The Russian foreign minister’s recent tour of Africa may have been unannounced, but it was not unexpected. In his second trip in eight months, Sergey Lavrov visited Eswatini, Botswana, Angola, and South Africa. In February, he will visit Mali, Tunisia, Mauritania, Algeria, and Morocco. Across the continent, he and his colleagues will likely promote the view that Russia is an anti-imperialist force, instrumentalizing positive memories of Soviet support for various African wars of independence against exploitative Western colonialists. Moscow has long used “memory diplomacy” in Africa—invoking positive memories of the past to bolster its influence and interests—but now these tactics are standing in the way of Ukraine’s soft power.

“Russia was among the few world powers that neither had colonies in Africa or elsewhere nor participated in [the] slave trade throughout its history. Russia helped, in every possible way, the peoples of the African continent to attain their freedom and sovereignty.”

This is the message that the Russian Embassy in South Africa, one of the Kremlin’s more vociferous consular social media accounts, released to mark Abolition of Slavery Day on Dec. 2, 2022. Twitter users were quick with rejoinders that Russia’s lack of colonies in Africa was not for want of trying and that, in any case, it had subjugated peoples in Asia and Eastern Europe. More importantly, Russia’s self-depiction as anti-colonial struck many as outrageously cynical when that same country is simultaneously pursuing an imperial war of conquest against its neighbor Ukraine.

This tweet, however, isn’t just another attempt by the attention-seeking Russian Foreign Ministry to provoke reactions through trolling or promote itself as a reliable ally and friend to African elites: It is also part of Russia’s own self-conceptualization. While some have slapped the labels of malign influence and disinformation on Russia’s diplomatic language in Africa, it would be more productive to examine the resonance of Russia’s narrative than the narratives themselves, even if they are clearly delivered in bad faith and self-interest. The willingness of some African countries to embrace Russia’s claim of a shared struggle against the West often has more to do with the painful and enduring experience of imperialism than a love of Russia. With the right framing, Ukraine could not only undermine Russia’s arguments but even take advantage of this anti-imperialist sentiment.

Many Russians are, in fact, reluctant to view their country as an empire, arguing that the Soviet Union and even the Russian Empire could not be described as imperial in the same way as Britain or France because Russians lived alongside their colonized subjects and intermarried. Narratives of Russia as a self-colonizer persist throughout history: “The history of Russia is the history of a country that colonizes itself.” This phrase, first coined by the historian Sergey Solovyov in the 1840s, gained widespread popularity thanks to Vasily Klyuchevsky’s five-volume work, The Course of Russian History, published between 1904 and 1921 and still referenced regularly by historians today.

This colonial exceptionalism, or refusal to acknowledge the colonial nature of Russia’s political structures, is not based solely on the contiguity of Russia’s empires but rather on the official and long-standing claim that Russia did not conquer Siberia. Instead, it was invited and welcomed by the peoples living there, who entered into union freely with Russia. Popular Russian history books and documentaries even claim that minorities were treated better than Russians, with Russia an “inverted empire” in which the peripheries exploited the center. This train of thought, popularized by former Russian President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s, is often used today by politicians and pro-Kremlin media, books, and television series to discredit the Baltic States when they discuss their countries’ exploitation at the hands of the Soviet authorities.

Even Russia’s current war in Ukraine, despite all its imperial accoutrements, is depicted by Russian media and politicians as a war of liberation, not just to free Russian-speaking Ukrainians but also to overcome Western—especially U.S.-led—hegemony. This line of thinking was summarized by Andrey Bezrukov, a professor at a leading Moscow university and former intelligence officer, in a June 2022 article in which he explained Russia’s war on Ukraine: “[F]or us this is, in essence, a liberating special operation (against the United States and Great Britain) for independence, it is anti-colonial.” Russians identify with the colonized and, seeing Ukrainians as Russian, cast themselves as the anti-imperialists, fighting the United States’ and the West’s political, cultural, and normative hegemony.

The Russian government has been adept at appropriating the history of Soviet support for a number of African struggles for independence and using it to bolster its image among many countries on the continent. But this is about more than nostalgia; it is about how Russian diplomats have been able to frame their war against Ukraine as a defensive response to Western aggression. In this view, Russia is not seeking to dominate Ukraine but striving for multipolarity, standing up to the West in a modern-day version of the anti-imperial struggles fought by African nations.

The Kremlin has been expending time, energy, and resources on convincing Africa of this vision, with some success. Russian ambassadors and diplomats have used public events, conferences, and media in countries from Algeria to Zimbabwe to celebrate and commemorate Soviet support for anti-colonial movements. During his most recent visit, Lavrov directly compared Russia’s war to “liberate” Ukraine from external Western influence with the Angolan War of Independence. Such comparisons are part of a wide spectrum of Russian diplomatic activities aimed at deepening alliances and cultural influence, from opening monuments to Soviet soldiers who fought in Angola’s Civil War to writing op-eds for Zimbabwean newspapers revisiting the Soviet Union’s liberating mission.

The strategy is effective because much of Africa holds positive memories of Soviet support for independence movements during the Cold War, and large numbers of African elites graduated from universities such as the Moscow-based Russian University of the Friendship of Nations. Those unable to study in Russia can join a new Africa-focused social network called Russosphère (Russian sphere), which launched around the same time as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The site already has tens of thousands of users who critique the French, dismissing them as modern-day colonialists, and celebrating the Wagner mercenary group, which has been widely accused of committing atrocities in the Central African Republic and elsewhere. Ironically, a BBC investigation found the man behind the network, Luc Michel, is from Belgium, another former colonial power.

These platforms, visits, and events are also used to discredit Western criticism of Russia. For example, during his first-ever visit to the Republic of Congo and meeting with President Denis Sassou Nguesso in summer 2022, Lavrov spent time discussing how the West colonized Africa for its own benefit.

Russian officials use such narratives to build ties with African countries, promising bilateral relations based on trust, equality, and respect for territorial integrity. Unlike the West, Lavrov depicts Russia as a defender of sovereignty that would never interfere in internal affairs. This line of argument resonates in some parts of the African continent, especially among those who suffered the most egregiously and recently from colonialism and slavery at the hands of the West. This was reflected in the president of Uganda’s assertion that “whenever issues come up and some people want us to take positions against Russia, we say: These people have stood with us for the last 100 years. How can we be automatically against them?”

Similarly, the ruling African National Congress party in South Africa has cited Soviet support against the apartheid regime as a driving factor in its close relations with Moscow. Following Lavrov’s January visit, South Africa will take part in Russia-led military drills scheduled for around the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

After all, (almost) nobody is denying that the West colonized Africa and has failed to make appropriate amends, or that the Soviet Union genuinely did support a number of African liberation movements in their struggles against colonial powers and the United States. The issue is that Russia and the Soviet Union have been colonizing forces elsewhere and have no right to any moral high ground—though that doesn’t make the anger to which Russian narratives appeal any less righteous or powerful. Instead, the narrative should be ceded to other countries without an imperial history, countries that were colonized by Russia. First and foremost, this should mean Ukraine.

Ukraine has a number of diplomatic interests in Africa, not least to maintain international pressure on Russia to adhere to the Turkey-brokered grain deal that has the potential to seriously disrupt food supplies to Africa. Other interests include U.N. votes and widening international support, which is why Ukrainian diplomats have so far focused their efforts on countries they perceive as strategically important in this regard—Kenya, Senegal, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast.

There is evidence that some African leaders already view Russia as the imperialist aggressor and relate to Ukraine’s position, as seen in the words of Martin Kimani, Kenya’s permanent representative to the United Nations. Explaining why Kenya joined 93 other countries in supporting a U.N. resolution calling for Russia to compensate Ukraine, he drew parallels between Russian and Western imperialism: “This is the right of Ukraine [to have reparations] but also for all the peoples and countries that are seeking reparations for colonial violence and dispossession, slavery, and other acts of aggression by powerful states, including members of the Security Council.” Although many African countries abstained or were absent, a number voted for the resolution, including Somalia, Djibouti, and Ghana, which had been the target of Russian memory diplomacy during the summer of 2019.

During his October visit to Senegal, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Kenya, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sought to challenge Russia’s narrative across a wide range of issues, from grain deliveries to NATO.

The continent remains a battleground for influence. In this light, while it is difficult for ministers to leave the country, it could be worth tasking embassies with identifying any Ukrainian Soviet heroes or major actors who assisted anti-colonial struggles, organizing research, conferences, or evening dinners in their honor to raise Ukraine’s profile in-country.

Another way to tap into unused sources of Ukrainian soft power include developing current and past alumni networks. Prior to Feb. 24, 2022, there were close to 20,000 African students in Ukraine. Given the (admittedly panicked) Ukrainian border guards’ poor treatment of some African students as they tried to flee the advancing Russian military, it is important for Ukraine to address this issue by engaging with affected alumni. Kyiv should look beyond recent students, however. Russian media frequently reference Soviet education as a source of their soft power in the Middle East, especially Syria, and Africa, but many of these same students studied in Kyiv and Kharkiv—not Moscow. Ukraine could arrange receptions for them, similar to those held by Russian embassies across Africa.

Ukrainian politicians have demonstrated a willingness to engage with Africa and a readiness to embrace positive elements of the Soviet legacy. Ukrainian memory diplomacy aimed at colonized peoples within the Russian Federation has been well-pitched, as with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s video speech rallying the people of the Caucasus nations against the war, delivered in front of a memorial to the Chechen hero Imam Shamil, which drew on a shared experience of Russian colonization and fights for independence.

If Ukraine were able to adapt these stories for audiences beyond the Caucasus, this could be a productive path of development. These stories would likely be very effective, not so much because of Zelensky’s communication skills or the resonance of the issue, although both are considerable, but because Ukraine would be telling the truth: Ukraine is in a brutal war of colonization, fighting for its freedom, standing on the side of the oppressed. It isn’t just a story.

[mistresslunastarx]

Chapter 1: The Velvet Veil of Luxury

In the heart of the city, where the skyline touched the heavens and opulence was a way of life, there existed a woman named Seraphina. She was a mistress of extravagance, a living embodiment of luxury whose every step left an indelible mark on the world around her. The city's elite circles whispered her name with a mix of awe and envy.

With cascading auburn locks and eyes that sparkled like champagne diamonds, Seraphina moved through the corridors of affluence with an undeniable allure. Her wardrobe consisted of garments that seemed to be spun from the threads of dreams, each piece a testament to her unapologetic devotion to opulence. The air around her carried the intoxicating scent of rare perfumes, a signature aroma that left lingering traces in the memories of those she encountered.

Seraphina's life had been a symphony of wealth and pleasure. Her lovers were once counted among the city's financial titans, men whose fortunes seemed as boundless as her desires. They bowed to her whims, their pockets deep and their devotion unwavering. Her existence was a tapestry woven with the finest silks, adorned with the rarest jewels, and framed by the glittering lights of the city.

However, as with all tales of excess, the crescendo reached its zenith, and Seraphina found herself standing at the precipice of a financial abyss. The lavish lifestyle she had cultivated with such care began to unravel, the threads of her carefully constructed world fraying at the edges.

The whispers of the city's social elite grew hushed, replaced by the cruel echoes of gossip. Seraphina, once the queen of soirées and galas, found herself on the outskirts of a world that no longer recognized her. The velvet veil of luxury that had cocooned her began to lift, revealing the stark reality of her financial decline.

The chapter began with Seraphina standing on the terrace of her penthouse, the panoramic view of the city below now a bitter reminder of a life slipping through her fingers. The once-gilded walls seemed to close in on her, bearing witness to the echoes of her extravagant past.

As the realization of her financial downfall settled like a storm cloud, Seraphina's mind whirred with desperate calculations. Her credit cards, once wielded like wands of endless possibility, now bore the weight of insurmountable debt. The once-bountiful bank accounts dwindled to mere reflections of their former opulence.

In the midst of the chaos, a new resolve emerged within Seraphina. She, who had been accustomed to being pampered and adored, faced the daunting task of rebuilding her financial empire. The city, once a playground for her indulgences, transformed into a landscape of potential conquests.

Chapter 2: The Quest for a New Patron

Seraphina, with a determination fueled by the embers of her former glory, embarked on a quest for a new patron—a lover whose wealth could breathe life back into the embers of her once-flourishing existence. The city, with its bustling streets and gleaming towers, became her hunting ground.

The first rendezvous unfolded in a swanky cocktail bar, where the air was thick with the scent of success and the clinking of crystal glasses echoed like a symphony. Seraphina, draped in a gown that clung to her like a second skin, exuded an aura of confidence that drew the attention of prospective suitors.

Among the affluent patrons, she found herself in conversation with a charismatic entrepreneur named Alexander. His eyes gleamed with the promise of financial prowess, and his words carried the melody of potential patronage. Seraphina, though shrouded in the remnants of her former splendor, managed to weave a tale of allure that left Alexander captivated.

Their courtship unfolded in the grandeur of rooftop restaurants and exclusive art exhibitions. Seraphina, though navigating the terrain of financial uncertainty, maintained a facade of regality. The city lights painted a backdrop of hope as she danced through the delicate balance of charm and vulnerability.

As the relationship with Alexander blossomed, Seraphina found herself tiptoeing along the precipice of expectation. The once-supple threads of her influence were now delicately woven, and she played the role of a woman seeking both financial stability and emotional connection. Alexander, smitten by the remnants of her former grandeur, seemed to be the key to Seraphina's ascent from the ashes.

Yet, as their connection deepened, cracks in the foundation began to emerge. Seraphina, once the master of her own destiny, found herself entangled in a web of compromise. The city, with its towering structures and glittering façades, became a metaphor for the illusions she was forced to maintain.

Chapter 3: The Fraying Threads of Desire

As the story progressed, the complexities of Seraphina's relationships came to the forefront. The financial patronage she sought became entangled with emotional entwinements, leaving her grappling with the blurred lines between transaction and affection.

In a lavish penthouse overlooking the city, Seraphina found herself torn between her desires for financial resurgence and the pursuit of genuine connection. Alexander, whose wealth had become both a beacon and a shackle, demanded a commitment that extended beyond the confines of material indulgence.

The climax of the tale unfolded in a clandestine meeting with a potential suitor—a mysterious tycoon named Sebastian. Rumors of his vast wealth and elusive nature had reached Seraphina's ears, sparking a glimmer of hope within her. The city, with its sprawling landscapes, became the stage for their secret rendezvous.

As Seraphina met Sebastian in the dimly lit chambers of an exclusive club, the air crackled with anticipation. His eyes, obscured by the shadows, held a promise that ignited the embers of Seraphina's desires. The city, with its labyrinthine streets, seemed to conspire with fate as the two danced through the night.

The narrative reached its zenith as Seraphina, entwined in Sebastian's enigmatic allure, faced a choice. The city lights, like a thousand shimmering stars, bore witness to the climax of her journey—a moment where the threads of financial aspirations and emotional desires intertwined.

The resolution of the story unfolded in the aftermath of Seraphina's decision. The city, with its relentless heartbeat, became a silent observer to the ebb and flow of her fate. The once-magnificent mistress, who had stood on the pedestal of wealth, faced the consequences of her pursuit—a tale of love, loss, and the unrelenting pursuit of desires in the glittering landscape of the urban sprawl.

As the story concluded, Seraphina stood on the terrace of her penthouse, the city lights twinkling below like a reflection of her once-glorious existence. The echoes of her journey lingered in the air, inviting readers to ponder the complexities of love, power, and the transient nature of opulence against the backdrop of the city that had witnessed her rise and fall.

#love #money #short story

[suguru342208]

Unlocking the Secret Behavior of the Forex Market: A Path to Trading Success

The world of forex trading is filled with complexity and uncertainty. Many traders often find themselves struggling to gain an edge in this competitive arena. However, there is a hidden gem of knowledge that could potentially change the game for traders and elevate them into the elite 5% who truly understand the market's behavior. In this article, we will delve into the secret behavior of the forex market, a technique that could significantly improve your trading outcomes.

Understanding Market Behavior

To understand the secret behavior of the forex market, we must first look at currency pairs' historical data. This technique, developed by trading expert Andrea Unger, involves backtesting specific rules to decipher the behavior of different currency pairs. By doing so, we can identify patterns that may not be apparent through conventional analysis.

Here are the rules for conducting this backtest:

When a currency pair breaks above the previous week's high, consider going long.

Stay in a long position until the price breaks below the previous week's low, then switch to a short position.

Remain in a short position until the price breaks above the previous week's high, then revert to a long position.

Rinse and repeat.

These rules provide a systematic approach to understanding market behavior, and they can be adapted to different time frames, such as daily or weekly. The key idea is to identify whether a currency pair exhibits trending or reversal behavior.

Trending and Reversal Currency Pairs

Not all currency pairs behave the same way. Some exhibit strong trends, while others tend to reverse direction. By categorizing currency pairs based on their behavior, traders can make more informed decisions. Here are examples of trending and reversal currency pairs:

Trending Currency Pairs:

GBP/JPY

AUD/JPY

USD/TRY

Reversal Currency Pairs:

AUD/CAD

GBP/CAD

USD/CAD

Understanding the behavior of these currency pairs is a valuable tool in a trader's arsenal. It allows them to align their strategies with the prevailing market conditions.

Putting Knowledge into Practice

Now that we have insight into currency pairs' behavior, let's explore how to apply this knowledge in real-world trading scenarios. We'll use the Moving Average Excess Return Expectancy (MAEE) formula in conjunction with the behavior of currency pairs to make informed trading decisions.

Example 1: AUD/CAD (8-Hour Time Frame)

AUD/CAD is in a downtrend, characterized by lower highs and lows. After a pullback to previous support-turned-resistance, it breaks above the previous week's high. Since AUD/CAD is a reversal currency pair, there's potential for a downward reversal. A bearish engulfing pattern confirms the entry trigger, signaling that sellers are in control. This prompts a short position on the next candle open.

Example 2: GBP/CAD (8-Hour Time Frame)

GBP/CAD is in an uptrend, marked by higher highs and lows. A pullback to previous resistance-turned-support occurs, followed by a break below the previous week's low. As GBP/CAD is a reversal currency pair, there's a possibility of an upward reversal. A bullish close, with the price moving above support, serves as the entry trigger for a long position on the next candle open.

Example 3: USD/TRY (Weekly Time Frame)

USD/TRY is in an uptrend, displaying higher highs and lows. After a pullback to previous resistance that now acts as support, a strong bullish close confirms the entry trigger. Since USD/TRY is a trending currency pair, a buy stop order above the previous week's high can be placed. This strategy capitalizes on the likelihood of the price continuing its upward trajectory.

The Role of Forex News

A critical question arises: should traders pay attention to forex news? The answer depends on their trading approach. Traders operating on longer time frames, such as 4-hour or daily, may not need to be overly concerned about news events. Their larger stop losses can withstand market volatility triggered by news releases. However, for those trading on shorter time frames (e.g., 1 hour or below), keeping an eye on news releases is essential. Major news events can lead to sudden market spikes, potentially triggering stop-loss orders.

In conclusion, understanding the secret behavior of the forex market can be a game-changer for traders. By categorizing currency pairs based on their behavior and combining this knowledge with technical analysis, traders can enhance their trading strategies. Whether you choose to pay attention to forex news or not depends on your trading style and risk tolerance. Armed with these insights, you're better prepared to navigate the dynamic world of forex trading and increase your odds of success.

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[dragonballalltime]

DRAGON BALL ALL-TIME: EPISODE 1!!

Welcome to DRAGON BALL ALL-TIME! An improvised story, written by two different writers! Please enjoy, if you follow along!=== [BEGIN] [WRITER 1] Years after the events of the DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE games, the Time Patrol was still a thriving group telling off all time-bending baddies! Due to the ever-changing operation though, the patrol was always expanding, so Conton City has since been made larger, and a new city is even in the works! You can already see some additions that have made their mark, such as...

The God of Destruction of Time

Like the Supreme Kai of Time, there too exists a God of Destruction of Time. There's much more to discuss about that, but... Today, we introduce ourselves to the newest to take on the mantle! 

The God of Destruction of Time must go undercover as an ordinary Time Patroller in order to properly dictate what timelines need to be destroyed, vs. ones that simply need their distortions cleared as usual. So, the newest god, Daquiri, is tasked with the same, currently on her way to being introduced to her brand new Time Patrol team!

But... Will she get along with them? Her team leader is quite strict and astute, so the surprisingly meek destroyer god may not be able to keep up her cover for long... Daquiri isn't too comfortable letting others know of her position yet, since if other Patrollers knew that the God of Destruction of Time was among them on missions, they may grow too intimidated and mess up their tasks! So, Daquiri must be the one to survive being intimidated instead... It's a cruel world.

A cruel world that's about to be burst open... Now! [WRITER 2] "So you really don't have any books related to Time Manipulation...? Asking for safety reasons, of course."

"I'm afraid that information is well kept in the Time Vault, or the Capsule Corporation database, depending on the manipulation method."

A pair of patrollers would be discussing matters inside of a lonely library.

One of them appeared to be a Kai, her pointy ears and attire being strong indicators. She wore a badge over her uniform, indicating that she was an 'Elite-ranked Patroller'.

On the other side, a Frieza Clansmen -or rather, clanswomen- listened to her leader.

"I understand that, thanks for clearing it up. In any case, I believe our new team member should be arriving soon." The purple-skinned Kai says, changing the topic.

"Hm? The one that Magma assigned to us himself?" The other woman inquires.

"That would be correct. He didn't rely much information to me, so I expect that they are able to give us more details about themselves." [WRITER 1] Soon, the library wouldn't be as lonely since a new lady walked in during the two's conversation.

The first thing you could tell about her is that she was tall, almost comically so, as she had to bend underneath entryways to not bump into them. The second key factor of the lady's appearance was that she had the face of a dog - not as in she's ugly, but a literal dog! Of course, the God of Destruction Beerus is a cat, so now we have a dog. "... O-oh, yoohoo!" But... The final inkling of her appearance was probably the most important of all. Despite being a big dog, her expression might as well have been a puppy's, her shaky figure joining her soft frame. She gulps a little, keeping up a polite smile.

"I-i'm Eireni, your new teammate!... Wait--" The lady smacks herself immediately. "No, you're Eireni, I'm Daquiri! Uhm... Hi!"

"..."

She sweats. Not only was she feeling nervous about being out of her God of Destruction attire and donning casual clothes instead, but she even botched her greeting! 

“....................”

Daquiri keeps a big smile as she screams internally. "I hope we can be friends!" [WRITER 2] Eiréni and her teammate exchange glances, and then they both reply with a similar smile.

"Welcome, I'm Ava! Please, have a seat." The Frieza clanswomen gestures to a third chair awaiting next to their table.

"Welcome indeed, I am Eiréni, as you have already pointed out. I'll be your team leader from now on." The Kai replies, nodding to the chair as well.

"We can get on all that technical time patrolling stuff later on. But for now, we rather know more about yourself, if you're willing to share." [WRITER 1] "U-uh, thanks!"

Daquiri smiles, smiling and dying inside all the way towards the chair. She sits down, and... Crack! "!!" The chair snapped a bit beneath her large body. However, she just tries to hide it, using her long skirt to cover up the broken leg as she never lets up her intensely sweating smile. "Thanks for the warm greeting!" There was something else she was trying to 'cover up', too. "Oh, me? Well, like I said, my name is Daquiri, and I'm the new God of--" She immediately puts a hand in front of her mouth, thinking, "O-oh, shoot...!"

She almost slipped up already!

"...G-god of... Sewing...!" "I don't even know how to sew??" "Yeah!" 

“........... . . .. . .”

Daquiri kept shaking.

[WRITER 2] "God... of sewing? Can't say I have ever heard state something so daring." Eiréni comments, glancing at Daquiri's chair momentarily after hearing it snap, but continues as if nothing happened.

"Mhm. You must be really good at it, hm? Come to think of it, I could use a new suit, this one is a bit worn out after all these years." Ava pulls at her white suit. [WRITER 1] "Oh, I see! Well, it is quite the suit! I could help you fix it sometime!" Not unless Ava wanted it to be ripped to shreds.

"U-uhm, uhh..." Daquiri clears her throat. "Sooo... Magma, the head of the Elite Time Patrol! He told me some stuff about you two before sticking me in your team!" She says. "Ava, you're... One of the city's librarians, correct? That explains the surroundings then, haha!"

"Aaand... Eireni..." Daquiri began to shake a little more. Something about that Kai's gaze felt so critical... "...O-one of the newest Elites, right?" Gulp. She hopes she didn't get that wrong.

[WRITER 2] "Correct. I'm glad Magma took that into account when arranging our meeting. It would've been somewhat of an issue if you had come here on a busier day." Ava explains.

"Certainly one of the newest, I was ascended not too long ago. It almost caught me off-guard, I thought it would never happen at this point." Eiréni replies. [WRITER 1] "Oh, I see! That's good to hear." Daquiri smiles. "I'm a new Time Patroller myself. I joined because..." She racks her brain. "...N-no particular reason..." She gulps again.

But, then she clears her throat. "Sooo, Ava, got any reading recommendations?" She asks. "Anything on the God of Destruction of Time position, perhaps?" She almost couldn't get more obvious. "It better not say anything weird!"

[WRITER 2] "Hm? Oh, I'm sure there must be some volumes speaking about the topic on the Deities section. Don't expect much though, the position is still fairly new, after all." Ava points out, as she glances over to a specifc aisle.

"That's true. I wonder if they've even appointed anyone yet." Eiréni comments. [WRITER 1] "W-well, there have been a few in the past, but... They all seemed to..."

She shakes her head. "N-not that I would be too studied on the topic, eheh!" Daquiri adjusts her seating.

...

And that makes her fully break her chair. "GAAAH!" She looked like a spilled plate of spaghetti, laid out on the floor among wood chips.

[WRITER 2] "Erm, are you okay?" Ava goes over to Daquiri to help her stand up.

"Do you have any other chairs around here that aren't made of cheap wood?" Eiréni asks, not as concerned as her teammate. "They can't just go breaking down because someone is shaking nervously on them..." [WRITER 1] "I-I'm oka--" Eireni's final sentence almost made Daquiri burst out and cry. "I-I'm not shaking...!" She was.

Her eyes dart around the room. She wanted to find something to take the attention away from her. "U-uhm, I know!" Spotting a board game on one of the shelves, a thought comes to her immediately. Without giving it much mulling over, she spits out, "H-how about we play '2 Truths 1 Lie'? That'd be a great way to get to know each other!"

She smiles.

...

And she also sits on her knees in front of the table, there not being much of a difference between that and a chair due to her height. "S-sorry about the chair, by the way! You can take it out of my paycheck!" The God in hiding tries to quickly move past it.

[WRITER 2] "A childish game as a method for an interview? Just who does she-"

"That sounds nice, Daquiri. May I ask you to go first?" Ava interjects, having noticed a subtle annoyance in Eiréni's expression. [WRITER 1] "E-eh? Uhm... Sure! I can try!" She was hoping to have time to think while they went first. Oh no.

"...Eeehm... Uuuhhhh..."

Why was Eireni looking at her like that?? She gulps, trying to think faster.

"O-okay!" Daquiri takes a deep breath. 

"I... Know how to sew."

"I've played basketball with Lord Zen-Oh before."

"I, uh... Like 'Skooby Snacks'."

She exhales. "N-now, you both have to pick which you think is the lie!" Nervous smile.

[WRITER 2] Both Patrollers squinted at Daquiri, carefully processing each statement.

"Hm... I'd say it was playing basketball with Lord Zen-Oh... I've never heard of him interacting with any mortal, outside of a certain incident." Ava replies, then glancing at Eiréni, who seemed deep in thought still.

"What is a 'Skooby Snacks'...?" [WRITER 1] "Oh, uh... They're, uh... Uh... Dog food..." Daquiri mumbles, before scratching the back of her head and laughing while saying, "E-ehehe, yeah! It sounds quite silly, but, uh, I did! He thought I was tall!" She looks around nervously. "No other reason he'd play with a mortal, haha!"

"And, oh, uh, yeah, I lied about being able to sew." She says. "I, uh, wasn't telling the truth earlier when I said I could... Uhhh..."

Death.

"Y-your turn!" Daquiri randomly points at one of them, wanting to change the subject. When she found her finger landed towards Eireni, she shook, and changed to Ava. "I-I meant you!"

[WRITER 2] "Oh? Alright." Ava nods, taking a minute to think.

"Let's see... I get my hair done often, I've taken books out of my own library without paying, and I can speak around 20 languages." She listed.

"Hm. You made it quite easy." Eiréni comments. [WRITER 1] "Oh, uh!--" Daquiri goes to comment immediately, but she hears Eireni's remark. "She made it... Easy?" Oh no! What if she gets it wrong??

She panics. 

"Uhm, uhh... Uhm!!..." Not knowing what to do with her hands, she flails somewhat before pointing a finger up and claiming, "Uhh, the lie is about your hair!"

"Wait, no--"

"You've taken books out!"

"No, that would be wrong--"

"20 languages!"

She stiffens. She ended up picking all three! "Aah...!" "U-uh, just go with the last one I said! Final answer!" [WRITER 2] "Wrong, I'm afraid. I would never take a book out without paying its respective value. I might the one in charge of this library, but that does not put me above the rules." Ava corrects.

"Polishing her hair also counts as getting it done, and last time I checked, she knows 19 languages, to be exact." Eiréni clarifies.

"yeah but twenty is a prettier number and makes me sound smarter-"

"Uh-huh. So I take it that it's my turn now, correct?" Eiréni asks, now slightly amused. [WRITER 1] "Wait, so I was right...?" Daquiri looks around, stunned. "Yay!!" She smiles gleefully, all tension from her fading for a moment as she claps her hands excitedly. "W-wow, Ms. Ava! That's wonderful! I only know one language, ehehe!"

She returns to panic. "U-uhm... Yeah!" Daquiri responds to Eireni, finding herself scooting closer to Ava.

[WRITER 2] "Hm." Eiréni places her hand under her chin, thinking.

"I like women." She states.

Dead silence.

"Uhm, Eiréni... You're supposed to state three different things." Ava remarks, nudging her leader.

"..."

"My contribution to this game has ended." She replies with a deadpan tone. [WRITER 1] "U-uh--"

Looking like a dog, one might assume that Daquiri was 'not too fond of gay people'. However, she only really seemed shocked by the suddenness of it.

"...Uuuhm..."

"Is that the lie??" Daquiri dimwittedly asks, having never had an intelligent thought. "I don't get it..." She looks at Ava for help.

[WRITER 2]

Ava merely tilts her head. "Why do you seem so confused?"

[WRITER 1] "I, uhh... Uhh..."

"I didn't know girls could like girls."

"So it's the lie, right?"

"But she didn't say anything else..."

"Uuuhm..."

"..."

[WRITER 2] "Perhaps we should leave it at that, lest you get further confused." Ava recommends with a slight chuckle.

Eiréni remained silent, just listening to the two while dying inside. [WRITER 1] "Uuuhm.. Okay??"

"Uuh, I guess it's my turn now..."

"..."

Daquiri puts a hand on her chin, thinking.

"Hmm... I should saaay... I should say that I'm a god! Then say it's a lie, because then they won't suspect me..."

"But, that would be an actual lie! Aw!"

"Then maybe I should saaay... I don't like Ms. Eireni's hair..."

"But that would be the lie!"

"But I'm supposed to come up with a lie!"

Before long, birds were spinning around her head. She was trying to figure out how to not feel guilty in a game about lies.

"O-okay, I have them!"

"...Uuh... I... Played basketball... With Whis..."

"I like Ms. Eireni's hairstyle."

"The sentence I'm saying right now... Is the truth!"

She smiles with flushed cheeks. "U-uh, guess!"

[WRITER 2] "Hm... You really like playing basketball, hm? However, this time I am certain that it's a lie. I doubt any Angel would dedicate themselves to sports when they have many other important matters to be concerned with." Ava guesses.

"A-and...!" Ahem. "And, should the sentence were you claim to be saying the truth not be true, you wouldn't have been able to state it as fact." Eiréni ends up re-joining the game. [WRITER 1] "Well, uhh... People just like playing it with me since I'm tall!" Daquiri says. "It was on the same day, too! Mr. Whis walked up to me like 'My, my, I had no idea that gods could be so ballin' then he--"

"--I mean, not that I would be a god, uhh--"

"..."

Eireni... Proved why Daquiri's lie didn't make sense. That was going to be the lie. "...U-uhm..." Trying not to look dumb, she blurts out, "T-the hair thing was the lie!"

"WAIT, I'M NOT TRYING TO SAY IT'S BAD--"

Daquiri holds her head in her hands, wanting to scream as she tries to incoherently murmur an excuse. "I-it's a lie because... I love the hair, not like..!" She really should have thought this game out before picking it...

[WRITER 2] Ava and Eiréni exchange glances once again.

"So we are expected to believe that deities approach you merely for your ability to be 'so ballin'?" The Kai inquires.

"Why not?" The other woman interjects.

"Ava, you should know well at this point that gods do not 'ball', did you forget?"

"Maybe you are the one that doesn't 'ball'?" Ava suggests, snickering. [WRITER 1] "U-uhm, well, I'm sure they would let you, if you wanted! The Supreme Kai of Time shows up for the games sometimes!" The god says. "...Though, uh, she's not very good because she's short... And, uh..."

"..."

"Y-your turn!" Dodging any other criticism, she nudges Ava. Despite it being just a nudge, she was so nervous that she couldn't control her strength, so it hurt quite a bit... "O-oh, sorry!!" [WRITER 2] Ava winced slightly, but she just nodded, accepting the apology. Where does all her patience come from?

"Hm..."

"I have more hobbies outside of reading."

"...My shirt size is between S and M."

"My favorite color is a very specific shade of blue. ...There you go!" [WRITER 1] "...Hmmm..." Daquiri puts a hand on her chin, inspecting Ava. She tugs at her shirt a little. "No, not it..." She looks at Ava. Daquiri gasps, having an epiphany. "Oh, I know it! You're blue, so clearly, you must like blue! The lie is about your hobbies!" 

She sounded very confident. "I-I don't have very many hobbies myself, ehehe..." She scratches her head shyly, blushing.

[WRITER 2] "uhm"

"Well, at least she didn't make fun of me for it, I guess...?" Ava sighs, nodding to Daquiri.

"You are correct. If I'm not reading or working, I usually find myself without nothing else to do." She admits, somewhat embarrassed. [WRITER 1] "Oh, well, uhm, maybe I could read with you, sometime!" Daquiri suggests, smiling gleefully. "I could show you some of my hobbies, too!"

"Like basketball."

"Which sometimes involves gods... For no particular reason!"

"..."

Sweat.

"U-uhm, your turn, Ms. Eireni!" Her cheerfulness began to fade into stiffness yet again.

[WRITER 2] "Oh, uhm, sure thing!" Ava smiles back.

"...Me again?" Eiréni scratches her head. 

"I thought I had lost the game." [WRITER 1] "Y-you did?" Daquiri asks. "I didn't know you could lose..."

"But, uh, I'll go instead, then!" In actuality, she took the chance to not accidentally end up saying something off kilter about Eireni.

"...Uuuhm..."

But now she has to rack her brain again!

"Aaagh... I-i can't keep lying! I'm running out things to say..."

"...Maybe I can..."

"..."

Daquiri began to hold her head, looking quite unsettled.

"I don't want them to judge me...!"

[WRITER 2] "Hm... I didn't know that either..." Ava comments, glancing at Eiréni.

"..."

They both turned their gaze back at Daquiri, expectant. [WRITER 1] "...!!"

She notices immediately. Her heart pounds!

"U-uh, just say something!"

"Uh, I just peed myself!"

"......"

"I also played basketball with the Grand Priest once."

"......"

"I am the God of Destruction of Time."

She began to shake like a cartoon skeleton, making chattering noises.

[WRITER 2] "Uh..."

"That is... disgusting, if true..." Eiréni speaks up. "However, I must assume that is the lie. I'm inclined to believe that you have at least enough dignity to be able to handle yourself in such a situation. Following your previous statements of having 'balled' with other higher ranked deities, I doubt you would lie about someone like the Grand Priest. Being the God of Destruction of Time would explain why you are able to meet up with said deities too." She analyzes, staring directly into Daquiri's eyes as she broke down her thought process.

"That's true, but maybe she did pee herself...? Sometimes you are a bit... You know..." Ava interjects.

"a bit what" [WRITER 1] "............"

With each passing word, Daquiri shakes more, her pupils dilating. There was some kind of strange puddle under her, too...

"Uh no I havent played basketball with the Grand Priest he doesn't like it"

"...."

"I peed and also I'm the god of destruction of time"

She screams internally.

"I-i didn't want them to look at me differently...! But... It feels worse to lie and try to be someone else!"

"......"

She looks at her wrist. "Oh, wow, would you look at the time!" She didn't have a watch. "Gotta go bye"

Within seconds, she was gone.

[WRITER 2] "!!!!?!??!?"

The duo was utterly shaken, to say the least.

"WE HAVE BEEN SEATING IN FRONT OF A GOD THIS WHOLE AFTERNOON?!" Eiréni exclaims. Ava merely replies with a sigh. "A god that peed on one of my chairs..."

[WRITER 1] Actually, she peed on the floor. She broke the chair a while ago!

[END]

#dragon ball #dragon ball fanfiction #dragon ball oc #writing #dragon ball xenoverse 2 #fanfiction #roleplay #dragon ball roleplay #dragon ball super #dbz #dbz oc

[ledenews]

Goaltending Duel Goes to Fort Wayne Over Wheeling, 2-1

Games between the Wheeling Nailers and Fort Wayne Komets have either seen offensive explosions or elite goaltending. Friday night's clash at WesBanco Arena featured the latter, as Wheeling's Bailey Brkin and Fort Wayne's Max Milosek combined to stop 67 of the 70 shots they faced. Anthony Petruzzelli was the only player who was able to solve Brkin, and he did it twice, while Justin Addamo potted his team-leading 17th of the year to make up all of the scoring in a 2-1 Komets decision. Both teams got on the board once in the opening stanza. The Nailers were the first to light the lamp, as they did so at the 7:46 mark. Justin Addamo cruised his way into the slot, then let a backhander go, which found its way into the right side of the cage. Fort Wayne drew even on the man advantage. Mark Rassell set up Daniel Maggio for a one-timer from the center point, which got tipped down and in by Anthony Petruzzelli. The Komets outshot Wheeling 12-8 in the middle frame, and got the lone goal just 2:24 into the period. Matt Alvaro won a right circle face-off to his left for Petruzzelli, who immediately fired a wrist shot off of the right post and into the net. The second period also featured a heavyweight fight, as 6-foot-7 Jack Boekel of the Nailers got the better of 6-foot-8 Scott Allan of Fort Wayne. The two sides combined for a whopping total of 32 shots in the third, but neither goaltender budged, as the Komets held on for the 2-1 road win. Max Milosek picked up the victory in goal for Fort Wayne, as he made 31 saves on 32 shots. Bailey Brkin was spectacular for Wheeling, as he denied 36 of the 38 shots he faced in the defeat. On Saturday night, WesBanco Arena will transform into the Wizarding World of the Wheeling Nailers for Wizards & Wands Night at 7:10. The first 1,700 fans will receive a one-of-a-kind magic wand, there will be a wizarding school acceptance letter station, a sorting hat, specialty jerseys, butter beer, quidditch during intermissions, and tons of other fun activities. Ticket packages and single game tickets are available for the 2022-23 season by visiting wheelingnailers.com or calling (304) 234-GOAL. The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley. Read the full article

[melbournenewsvine]

Save 50% on HyperXs Alloy Elite 2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard at its new all-time low of $65

Amazon is now offering the HyperX Alloy Elite 2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard for $64.99 shipped. Normally going for $130, this 50% discount marks a new all-time low price we’ve tracked, beating our previous mention by $20. Built with a solid steel frame, the Alloy Elite 2 has per-key RGB lighting with dynamic effects to add some flair to your gaming setup. The HyperX Red switches here feature linear actuation with no tactile bump for fast response times with the ABS pudding keycaps partly translucent so the RGB lighting stands out more than solid keycaps. There is even a light bar that can be synchronized with your setup through software. You’ll also have media controls with the function keys here to boot. You can even connect the keyboard to your Xbox or PlayStation if you want to game on a keyboard instead of a controller. Head below for more. If you want to save some cash, be sure to check out EVGA Z12 RGB Gaming Keyboard for $20. Unlike the HyperX option above, this EVGA option is a membrane-style keyboard rather than mechanical, but that comes with the advantage of being IP32-rated for spill resistance. Five dedicated macro keys can be configured in the UNLEASH RGB software. Also controllable by this software are the five RGB zones, another difference between this option and the HyperX one. When it comes to gaming-style keyboards, you don’t get much more basic than this. Be sure to swing by our PC gaming hub for the latest deals on hardware and peripherals. We’re also tracking a deal on the current-generation Xbox Wireless Controller in Robot White for $39, the best price we’ve tracked this year so far. Making for a notable couch co-op controller or a fresh new replacement, it delivers the same up to 40-hour battery life you’re likely used to alongside the hybrid D-pad, textured grip on the triggers, bumpers, and back-case, a 3.5mm headset jack, and USB-C charging. HyperX Alloy Elite 2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard features: HyperX Mechanical switches: These reliable key switches are a balance of responsiveness and accuracy, with a short travel time and actuation distance. They feature an exposed LED for brighter, more luminous RGB lighting. Signature light bar & dynamic RGB lighting effects: The signature HyperX light bar and vibrant lighting effects form a truly dazzling display. Dedicated media keys and large volume wheel: Have control at your fingertips with a prominent volume wheel and dedicated keys for media, profiles, and Game Mode. Subscribe to the 9to5Toys YouTube Channel for all of the latest videos, reviews, and more! Source link Originally published at Melbourne News Vine

#Melbourne News Vine

[junker-town]

NBA mock draft 2022: Instant first round picks with lottery complete

Here’s our immediate first round projection now that the 2022 NBA Draft order is set.

The Orlando Magic are the lucky winners of the lottery and will pick No. 1 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Magic will be followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder at No. 2, the Houston Rockets at No. 3, and the Sacramento Kings at No. 4. The draft will be held on June 23 in Brooklyn.

This year’s draft class is led by three big forwards with distinct skill sets. Duke’s Paolo Banchero has been the top player on our board all year because of his creation and passing ability at 6’10, 250 pounds. Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren has been our No. 2 prospect for his length, shooting projection, and elite rim protection instincts. Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr. is maybe the best pure shooter in the class, and the best perimeter defender of the top three. Purdue guard Jaden Ivey could also draw looks in the top three.

The 2022 NBA Draft order is finally set. Here’s our instant projection of the first round.

1. Orlando Magic - Paolo Banchero, F, Duke

Banchero has maintained his status as our top prospect from the very start of this draft cycle because of his striking combination of size and offensive skill. At 6’10, 250 pounds, Banchero has the ball handling and live dribble passing chops of a guard with multiple avenues to produce points for himself and his teammates. He already has an advanced midrange scoring package and the strength to bully defenders down low. He’s also one of the very best passers in this draft class, using his size to drop beautiful high-low dimes and the threat of his scoring to hit open teammates when defenses send two to the ball. Banchero is not an elite athlete in terms of speed or vertical explosiveness, and there are questions about how he’ll translate defensively. The three-point shot is his other big swing skill after hitting 33.8 percent of his triples at Duke. No other player in this class has a better chance to become a primary offensive option at the next level, and that’s why Banchero is our top prospect. Read our full scouting report on Banchero here.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder - Chet Holmgren, F/C, Gonzaga

Holmgren is a long and skinny 7-foot big man who has positioned himself as one of the top rim protectors to enter the draft in recent years. His sub 200-pound frame has invited plenty of doubters, but Holmgren’s toughness and skill as a shot blocker showed up all over the tape both at Gonzaga and during his decorated high school career in Minneapolis. While he should be an excellent interior defender, Holmgren’s offense is more of a question mark. He proved he can effectively space the floor from three-point range after hitting 39 percent of his threes on 105 attempts. He’s also a smart and quick passer who keeps the ball moving on the perimeter. He’s a good cutter — finishing in the 90th percentile of the country on those play types, per Synergy Sports — and can hit shots in the post even without deep position because of his plus touch. It’s fair to have concerns about how much Holmgren will score at the NBA level, but his offensive skills should fit seamlessly into a team structure while he provides elite rim protection. Read our full scouting report on Holmgren here.

3. Houston Rockets - Jabari Smith Jr., F, Auburn

Smith is an elite three-point shooter at 6’10 who will draw serious consideration for the No. 1 overall pick (and might even be the front-runner right now). His deep shooting range and quick release gives him the ability to take and make difficult shots from all over the court. He should be a high-volume and highly accurate shooter behind the arc after hitting 42 percent of his threes in his freshman year at Auburn. Smith is also a good defensive prospect who can step out on the perimeter and hold his own on switches. He probably shouldn’t be relied on to be a full-time rim protecting center in the league, but his strengths defensively — quick feet with a 7’1 wingspan — should fit nicely into where schemes are headed. The worry for Smith is his ability to score inside the arc and create easy looks off the dribble. He made only 43.5 percent of his two-point field goals and finished with nearly as many turnovers (63) as assists (68). Playing with better guards than he did in college will be a big boon for Smith, and if he can improve his handle and his finishing craft he could easily turn into the best player in this class, even if we prefer 2-3 prospects over him at the moment.

4. Sacramento Kings - Jaden Ivey, G, Purdue

Ivey’s breakout sophomore year at Purdue established him as the top guard prospect in this year’s draft. At 6’4, 195 pounds with a reported 6’9 wingspan, Ivey is a big guard who can play both on and off the ball. His best attribute is his elite speed — from his blazing first step at a standstill to his ability to burn defenders in the open floor, Ivey is able to create separation from even the most athletic defenders with his burst. He’s also a great leaper around the basket with impressive midair agility who can contort his body and extend his arms for acrobatic finishes. Ivey made a big leap as a shooter as a sophomore — going from 25.8 percent to 35.8 percent this year from three-point range — but will have to continue to prove he can hit shots at a high clip. I’m more bullish than some on his defense because his length and recovery speed can make up for some errors in technique. The big question for Ivey is if he can handle de facto point guard duties, or if a team needs a more traditional floor general next to him. Regardless of that answer, his size, speed, and nimbleness should make him successful on any properly spaced NBA floor.

5. Detroit Pistons - Adrian Griffin Jr., F, Duke

As the top-four prospects in this class have separated themselves from the pack, Duke wing Adrian Griffin Jr. headlines Tier 2 for his combination of youth, physical tools, and shooting touch. Griffin has an outstanding frame for an NBA wing at 6’6, 225 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan. He projects as an elite three-point shooter after hitting 44.7 percent of his threes on 159 attempts as a freshman at Duke. While Griffin is big and sturdy, he lacks great flexibility and agility, which limits him both as a north-south driver on offense and screen navigator on defense. Griffin doesn’t yet produce many free throws or consistent rim pressure, which limits his offense despite such impressive shooting. Griffin is already built like a grown man despite being one of the youngest prospects in the class. There are options with safer floors still on the board, but Griffin’s potential ceiling gives him the pole position for the fifth pick.

6. Indiana Pacers - Shaedon Sharpe, G, Kentucky

Sharpe was the top prospect in next year’s high school class before enrolling at Kentucky midseason and becoming draft eligible. He did not play a second for the Wildcats this year, which makes him perhaps the biggest wildcard in the draft. A 6’5 shooting guard with a reported 7-foot wingspan, Sharpe combines impressive speed and vertical pop with enticing flashes of pull-up shooting. He routinely made plays above the rim in the EYBL, and already has his footwork down on step-backs. Scouts will need to evaluate his decision-making at both ends, and decide just how well his burst and explosiveness measures up against the top young shooting guard prospects in a similar archetype (our two cents: he’s a very good athlete but a step below the Anthony Edwards/Jalen Green line). Sharpe is one of the best upside bets in this class after the top-four, but the fact that he’ll go a year without playing a competitive game by the time his rookie season starts makes him an especially tricky evaluation.

7. Portland Trail Blazers - Jalen Duren, C, Memphis

Duren is the second youngest player in this draft, but his imposing physicality will be his best attribute from day one in the league. Duren is expected to measure at 6’10, 250 pounds with a 7’5 wingspan while possessing arguably more raw power than any prospect in this class. Duren is not a floor spacer at this stage (he didn’t make a three-pointer in college), but he’ll provide value as a lob target, offensive rebounder, and short roll passer on offense. His status as a prospect of this caliber likely depends on how you evaluate his defense. I’m on the optimistic end there because I believe he has the versatility to play multiple coverages against the pick-and-roll. Duren has the length to play drop coverage and the quickness to stick with ball handlers on the perimeter for a few moments when he gets to the level of the screen. He should also be a major deterrent at the rim after posting a 10 percent block rate as a freshman. Centers of Duren’s ilk typically aren’t viewed as super valuable, but his youth, physical gifts, and emerging passing ability provides plenty of reason to believe in him.

8. New Orleans Pelicans - Keegan Murray, F, Iowa

Murray was probably the best player in college basketball this year as a sophomore at Iowa. A 6’8, 225-pound forward with a 6’11 wingspan, Murray should provide valuable movement shooting skills for a player his size with above-average defensive ability. He hit 39.8 percent of his threes this year on 166 attempts by utilizing a quick release and the size to shoot over most contests. He’s able to quickly square himself for a shot when running off a screen and he shouldn’t have any problems hitting from the NBA line. Murray can also score in transition and hit the offensive glass some, and did a remarkable job avoiding turnovers this year despite a loose handle. While Murray certainly has a high floor in the league, his ceiling is questionable. He’s not an electric shot creator off the dribble, and he’s not blowing anyone away athletically. He should have a long career as a 3-and-D forward, but taking him in this range would be trying to hit a double rather than a home run. While Murray likely won’t last this long, his shooting would be a natural fit next to Zion Williamson.

9. San Antonio Spurs - Bennedict Mathurin, G, Arizona

Mathurin blossomed into one of college basketball’s biggest stars as a sophomore and helped transform Arizona into a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The 6’5 guard cemented himself as a lottery pick with deep shooting range, opportunistic cutting, and the ability to impact the game offensively without holding the ball. Mathurin’s shooting will have to be his calling card, and he hit 37 percent of his three-pointers on 225 attempts this year. He has deep range on spot-ups and more importantly showed the ability hit shots while running off screens. Mathurin’s cutting ability also jumped out on tape: he’s great at eating up the space the defense gives him in the lane, and he’s an explosive two-footed jumper when he’s near the basket. The question with Mathurin’s offense is how much juice he’s going to provide off the dribble: his handle can be a bit shaky, and he missed a fair amount of open passing windows in college. The defense could also be a tricky evaluation: Mathurin should have the quickness and length to be good defensively against smaller guards, but he’s often prone to off-ball lapses and poor technique. There are a lot of great, young combo guards in the NBA right now, and if Mathurin continues to develop as a dynamic shooter he has a good chance to join them.

10. Washington Wizards - Johnny Davis, G, Wisconsin

Davis was a three-star recruit entering Wisconsin who went from a solid bench piece as a freshman to one of the biggest stars in college hoops as a sophomore. A strong 6’5, 195-pound combo guard, Davis combines tough and versatile shot-making with impressive point of attack defense to emerge one of the safest two-way bets in this class. While Davis lacks blow-by speed and top-end athleticism, he proved he needs little space to get off his shot. He torched defenders on midrange pull-ups, powering through contact at the rim, and dragging smaller defenders into the post. He only hit 30.6 percent of his threes this year, but he has a quick release on spot-ups and should be a much better shooter than that at the NBA level when he’s not expected to single-handedly carry his team’s offense. Defensively, Davis slides his feet well and walls off driving lanes with his chest. He’s a smart rotational defender off the ball and should be able to hold his own against bigger players on switches for a few moments. Davis feels like more of a high-floor prospect than a high-ceiling one, but his determined one-on-one scoring, projectable shooting, and trustworthy defense should play in almost any environment.

11. New York Knicks - Dyson Daniels, G, G League Elite

Daniels was the most impressive draft-eligible player on this year’s G League Ignite as the program’s first-ever international recruit coming over from Australia. A 6’8, 200-pound wing with a 6’11 wingspan, Daniels is the consummate role player who will earn playing time with his defense and add offensive value with his passing and ball handling. He is a tenacious point-of-attack defender with quick feet and active hands who can cut off driving lanes, get over screens, and force takeaways in a variety of different situations. On offense, Daniels fits the ‘connector’ mold: he’s a quick ball mover on the perimeter who can also bend the defense with his driving. He’s a good enough passer to be a secondary playmaker in most lineups. There is one notable weakness for Daniels at this stage, and that’s his outside shooting. He made just 30 percent of his threes on the year, but he did get better as the season went along. Daniels will carve out a role as a perimeter stopper on defense, and if his jump shot improves, he could become the type of versatile ball handling wing teams crave.

12. Oklahoma City Thunder - Jeremy Sochan, F, Baylor

Sochan emerged as one of the biggest surprises of this draft class as a freshman at Baylor. A 6’9, 230-pound forward with a 7-foot wingspan, Sochan is arguably the most versatile defender in the draft while also showing flashes of creation skills on offense. Sochan is an incredible horizontal athlete for someone his size, showing no problem sticking with guards on the perimeter while also being big enough to battle inside. He projects as a wing stopper and switchable defender who has several avenues to offensive value. Sochan is an impressive ball handler and a smart passer whether he’s stationary or on the move. His biggest red flag is his jump shot: he hit 29.6 percent of his threes on 81 attempts, and only made 58.9 percent of his free throws. After averaging only 14.7 points per-40 minutes at Baylor, Sochan will have to prove he can score enough to make NBA defenses respect him. While his offense feels like a project right now, Sochan is simply the type of winning role player teams need in the playoffs. Someone this big and this switchable feels destined for a long and lucrative career.

13. Charlotte Hornets - Tari Eason, F, LSU

Eason left Cincinnati after his freshman year to come to LSU, where he enjoyed a breakout season that firmly established him as a first round pick. At 6’8, 216 pounds with a 7’1 wingspan, Eason is a monster athlete with a relentless motor who can be a buzzsaw at both ends. Eason has a habit of simply ripping the ball away from the opposition when he’s on defense, posting a ridiculous 4.5 percent steal rate and 6.3 percent block rate this past season. When he forces a turnover, it’s usually two points the other way: Eason scored in the 90th percentile on transition opportunities thanks to his excellent straight line speed and comfort handling the ball in the open floor. Eason’s offense requires more projection right now: while he made 36 percent of his threes (on 78 attempts) and hit 80 percent of his free throws, he’s still a reluctant shooter with a slow release who can’t yet be reliably counted on to space the floor. He also badly struggles to play with his left hand, as noted in this video by Adam Spinella. Despite coming off the bench the entire year, Eason led the Tigers in scoring and blocks while finishing second in rebounds and steals. His combination of size, athleticism, and tenacity deserves a serious look in the lottery.

14. Cleveland Cavaliers - Malaki Branham, G, Ohio State

Branham wasn’t projected as a one-and-done coming into Ohio State as a recruit ranked around No. 40, but he emerged into one by coming on strong to end his freshman year. A 6’5 shooting guard with a reported 6’10.5 wingspan, Branham is an old-school shooting guard who prefers midrange pull-ups but also offers catch-and-shoot potential. Branham took 153 non-rim two-pointers this year and knocked them down at an impressive 43.1 percent clip. He created most of those looks himself (only 18 percent were assisted) by knowing how to get to his spots and having the ability to rise and fire. He was also impressive from three-point range, hitting 41.1 percent of 90 attempts almost exclusively on spot-ups. If his pull-up midrange shots can become pull-up threes, he could have more upside than anticipated. Branham also needs to become a tougher and more engaged wing defender, and he has the tools to do it.

15. Charlotte Hornets - Mark Williams, C, Duke

On a Duke team with potential first round picks at every spot in the starting lineup, Williams stood out for his elite length and shot blocking instincts. Williams has a clear translation to the NBA as a rim protector on defense and lob threat on offense. He has a reported 7’7 wingspan that would make him one of the league’s longest players from the moment he’s drafted. His 11.7 block rate ranked top-20 in the country. On offense, Williams will roll hard to the basket, finish plays at the dunker spot, and attack the glass. He’s not a threat to space the floor (he made zero three-pointers this in his two-year college career) and isn’t much of a passing hub after finishing with one more turnover than assist this season. Players in Williams’ archetype usually aren’t considered at this point of the draft, but Charlotte desperately needs a center, and Williams’ strengths make him a nice fit with their young core.

16. Atlanta Hawks - TyTy Washington, G, Kentucky

Washington skyrocketed up the recruiting rankings as a high school senior and ditched his commitment to Creighton for the brighter lights of Kentucky. A 6’3 guard with a 6’9 wingspan, Washington offers impressive touch from midrange with spot-up shooting potential and secondary playmaking ability. He does his best work in the midrange, using pull-up jumpers and the best floater in the class (he finished in the 91st percentile on runners, per Synergy Sports) to put pressure on the opposing defense. He also has catch-and-shoot ability after making 35 percent of his threes this year. The question for Washington is how his game will look on a properly spaced floor after sharing time with so many non-shooters at Kentucky. The Hawks could use another playmaker with length next to Trae Young, and Washington checks both boxes.

17. Houston Rockets (via Nets) - Ousmane Dieng, F, France

Dieng is a 6’10 wing from France who re-established himself as a first round lock by coming on strong for the NBL’s New Zealand Breakers in the second half of the season. Dieng’s ability to play on the perimeter at his size is what makes him so intriguing. He can handle the ball, run secondary pick-and-roll actions, and started to show his shooting potential late by hitting 13 of his last 32 three-pointers (40.6 percent) in his last seven games to close the season. He also had some impressive flash plays defensively, using his 7’1 wingspan to get into the passing lane for steals and provide supplemental rim protection as a backline defender. Dieng feels somewhat similar to last year’s Grizzlies first rounder Ziaire Williams as a tall, toolsy wing with shooting potential who is probably a few years away from making a consistent impact.

18. Chicago Bulls - Patrick Baldwin Jr. F, Milwaukee

Baldwin was considered the No. 5 overall recruit in his class when he made the decision to play for his father in the Horizon League over going to Duke. His year with Milwaukee was an outright disaster: his numbers were terrible, an ankle injury limited him to only 11 games, and his father was fired as head coach after a 10-22 season. While the days of Baldwin being considered a top-10 pick are over, there’s still reason to believe in his translation to the NBA. A 6’10, 220-pound forward, Baldwin built his reputation as an elite shooter at the high school level. He can be a major catch-and-shoot threat and does most of his damage on spot-ups or one-dribble pull-ups. His size also allows him to compete defensively, and he’s shown enough off-ball awareness to make some impact on that end. Of course, a pure shooter like Baldwin should hit better than the 26.6 percent from three and 41.8 percent from two-point range he managed as a freshman. The long-term health of his ankle might be a concern as well after it also cost him his senior year of high school. The Bulls simply need both size and shooting, and the best version of Baldwin checks both of those boxes if he can regain the form that once made him so highly touted.

19. Minnesota Timberwolves - Kendall Brown, F, Baylor

Brown is a nuclear athlete with immense defensive versatility who showcased impressive feel on the offensive end to emerge as a potential lottery pick. A 6’8, 205-pound forward with a 6’10 wingspan, Brown is a jaw-dropping leaper with great speed who is still learning how to leverage his physical gifts into two-way production. Brown’s calling card will be his defense. He’s excellent guarding at the perimeter for a player his size, showing the ability to stick with guards and quickly turn defense into offense by getting into the passing lanes. He’s also big enough to hold up defensively in the paint on switches. On offense, Brown impacts the game with his passing, transition scoring, offensive rebounding, and cutting. He’s a blur in the open floor who finished in the 83rd percentile as a transition scorer, per Synergy Sports. The hole is Brown’s game is as a shooter. He hit 34.1 percent of his threes this year on low volume, but is often reluctant to fire from the outside. Brown was a super-efficient scorer as a freshman (63 percent true shooting) mostly thanks to his above-the-rim finishing around the basket, but he’ll need to prove he can space the floor to provide peak value in the NBA.

20. San Antonio Spurs - Nikola Jovic, F, Serbia

Jovic is a 6’10 Serbian forward who is the latest potential first round pick for Mega Basket, the same club that once produced Nikola Jokic. Jovic stamped himself as a likely first rounder with an impressive showing in the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup, where he averaged 18.1 points per game and hit 36.4 percent of his threes. Jovic is a dynamic offensive prospect thanks to his combination of size, shooting, and creativity. Jovic’s flash plays are incredibly enticing, with step-backs and sidesteps from three-point range acting as a regular part of his arsenal. He’s also shown some intriguing passing chops when he puts the ball on the floor, which makes him more dangerous than your typical spot-up shooter. The big question for Jovic is the defense. He can be an eyesore on that end getting burned by quicker players and struggling to get over screens. There’s no denying his offensive talent at 6’10, and if a team believes they can get him out of the liability zone defensively, he’s a nice upside gamble at this point in the first round.

21. Denver Nuggets - Ochai Agbaji, G, Kansas

Agbaji had already established himself as the consensus top senior on NBA draft boards even before he powered Kansas to the national championship and earned Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors. A 6’5, 215 pound wing with a 6’10 wingspan, Agbaji was always an NBA-caliber athlete, and this past season he fully blossomed as a shooter. He hit 41 percent of his threes on 6.5 attempts per game and finished in the 83rd percentile of the country in spot-up efficiency, per Synergy Sports. Agbaji will need to be a plus defender to earn an NBA role, and there’s reason to believe he can do that thanks to his length and quickness despite underwhelming block and steal rates throughout his college career. He should slot in to an off-ball shooter role in the league, and would be a natural fit for a Denver team that always needs wing shooting around Nikola Jokic.

22. Memphis Grizzlies (via Jazz) - Leonard Miller, F, Canada

Miller was largely off the radar as a 2022 draft prospect before a breakout performance at the Nike Hoops Summit turned him into one the most intriguing lottery tickets in this class. Miller is a pure upside swing as a 6’11 forward comfortable playing with the ball in his hands on the perimeter. The Canadian is a confident shooter who reportedly hit 40 percent of his threes during his prep school year at Fort Erie International Academy in Ontario. He has showed some impressive ball handling and passing ability as well, whether he’s pushing the ball in transition or putting it on the deck to find teammates when attacking a closeout. It’s rare to see a player this big have legitimate flashes of a dribble/pass/shoot skill set, which makes him worth a shot at this point in the draft even if he needs a couple years of seasoning before he’s ready to make a real impact.

23. Brooklyn Nets (via Sixers) - MarJon Beauchamp, F, G League Ignite

Beauchamp is a powerful wing who showed how valuable his combination of athleticism, size, and motor can be during his stint with the G League Ignite. At 6’6, 200 pounds with a reported 7-foot wingspan, Beauchamp showed impressive defensive versatility and opportunistic scoring instincts all season. Defense should be his calling card early in his career. Beauchamp has quick feet and active hands with the length to guard across the positional spectrum. On offense, Beauchamp thrived attacking the rim in all settings, with transition forays, cuts, and straight line drives serving as the foundation of his scoring. While he only shot 24 percent on threes, he did make 68 percent of his twos. Even without NBA-ready floor spacing ability, Beauchamp has enough of a two-way skill set to provide nice value at this point in the first round.

24. Milwaukee Bucks - E.J. Liddell, F, Ohio State

Liddell is trying to make the transition from college star to NBA role player after an outstanding three-year career at Ohio State. A 6’7, 240 pound forward with a 7-foot wingspan, Liddell has the length, strength, and improving skill level to develop into a quality NBA four. He made major strides as a shooter every season with the Buckeyes, and hit 37.4 percent of his threes on 123 attempts this year. He also looked a little quicker laterally on the defensive end while doubling his block rate (8.5 percent this season) from his sophomore to junior years. A player like Grant Williams serves as a good model for what Liddell can become if the shooting improvement he showed as a junior at OSU is for real.

25. San Antonio Spurs (via Celtics) - Kennedy Chandler, G, Tennessee

Chandler was a decorated high school point guard who lived up to the hype as an All-SEC performer as a freshman for Tennessee. At 6-foot, 170 pounds with a 6’6 wingspan, Chandler makes up for his lack of size with plus length, quick hands, and toughness. Chandler is a speedy ball handler who can get into the paint and has the finishing craft to score (60 percent at the rim) in close despite his lack of size. He’s also a good pick-and-roll manipulator who finished in the 73rd percentile on those play types this season, per Synergy Sports. While Chandler is mostly a one- or two-position defender because of his lack of size, he is decidedly feisty at the point of attack, showing the ability to cleanly pick opposing guards for an impressive 4.1 percent steal rate. Chandler also make 38 percent of his threes this year, but surprisingly shot only 60 percent from the foul line. He’ll need to be a reliable shooter from deep and develop his floater to be an effective scorer at the next level, but his ability to run a team makes him a safe bet to carve out a long career as a backup point guard, if nothing else.

26. Dallas Mavericks - Jaden Hardy, G, G League Ignite

Hardy was a consensus top-five recruit out of high school, and had some league insiders believing he’d contend to be the No. 1 overall pick in this draft as he chose to play for the G League Ignite program over going to college. The 6’4 guard didn’t quite live up to the hype, but the package of skills that made him so highly-touted could still serve as the foundation for a successful NBA career. Hardy is a shooting guard with a nasty stepback package, deep shooting range, and a bucket-getter’s mentality. While Hardy’s offense looks incredible when he has it going, he also has some severe limitations. He’s a poor finisher who lacks pop around the basket, and only made 38 percent of his attempts at the rim, per The Box and One’s Adam Spinella. Hardy also finished with more turnovers (42) than assists (38), and shot 35 percent from the field and 27 percent from three. Hardy’s 88 percent mark from the free throw line might be a better indicator of his shooting talent, but there’s plenty of room for growth across his skill set despite his lofty reputation.

27. Miami Heat - Blake Wesley, G, Notre Dame

Wesley was ranked outside of the top-100 in recruiting services coming out of South Bend before committing to hometown Notre Dame and emerging as their offensive engine and leading scorer. A 6’5 guard with a 6’11 wingspan, Wesley has tantalizing creation potential with a quick first step, long arms, and the ability to put pressure on the rim. At times it feels like Wesley can get wherever he wants on the floor because of his quickness and craft. Finishing is a different story: he made only 51 percent of his rim attempts, often botching good looks from layup range. Wesley has potential as a shooter, too, but he still needs to prove he can be productive after going 52-of-172 (30.2 percent) from three-point range. Wesley has some obviously impressive physical tools if he can improve as a finisher and shooter. He deserves to go higher than this based on his natural talent.

28. Golden State Warriors -Bryce McGowens, G, Nebraska

McGowens is a big guard with impressive driving ability and real shooting potential at the next level for a team willing to develop him. At 6’7, 180 pounds with a 6’9 wingspan, McGowens has a quick first step and long strides that help him get to the basket. While the shooting numbers from deep were a bit rough — 27.4 percent from three on 140 attempts — the freshman guard showed a clean stroke and enough shooting versatility to think he can improve. McGowens needs to get better defensively and as a finisher (he shot 56.2 percent at the rim, per T-Rank) while adding strength to his frame, but his tools are valuable if they can be refined.

29. Memphis Grizzlies - Jake LaRavia, F, Wake Forest

LaRavia transferred to Wake Forest this past season after two years at Indiana State and immediately became both an All-ACC performer and a legitimate candidate to sneak into the late first round of the NBA draft. A 6’9, 235 pound forward with a 6’11 wingspan, LaRavia has an enticing off-ball offensive skill set while competing defensively with quick hands and enough size to defend in the front court. LaRavia showed quality shooting versatility for the Demon Deacons, hitting 38.4 percent of his threes this year. He’ll need to prove he can up his volume after attempting only 73 triples all season. He can also provide offensive value as a heady cutter, and by posting up smaller defenders. He finished in the 96th percentile on post-ups this season, per Synergy Sports. LaRavia doesn’t create much off the dribble, and needs to be set up for his threes, but his intersection of size and shooting should be appealing to teams.

30. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Suns) - Jalen Williams, G, Santa Clara

Williams was one of the biggest mid-major stars in college basketball this year as a junior, and now has the NBA’s full attention as a possible late first round pick. A 6’6 guard with a massive 7’2 wingspan, Williams is a skilled pick-and-roll playmaker who also hit 40 percent of his threes on 106 attempts. He led the Broncos in assists this year, and finished in the 86th percentile as a pick-and-roll ball handler, per Synergy Sports. Williams also finished in the 97th percentile as a spot-up shooter. His combination of length, ball handling, and shooting gives him the potential to play on- or off the ball with the ability to guard a variety of different matchups. Williams enters this draft as a small school standout without the hype of most first round prospects, but his skill set should translate nicely into the league if he can prove he can hang athletically.

[kthyg]

; library (winter’s recs)

➸ notes 💌 ; hii my lovess so since im too lazy and dumb to create another acc for fic or novel recs, i decided to just create a post where i compile everything! if this post ever reaches the limit, i’ll make a new post and link it here (vice versa for the new post). so without wasting more spaces, i present to you an endless list of bts fics! (and some novels, separately) along with my short review <3 please give the authors thumbs up and muchh love for their incredible works.

➸ note 2 ⚠️ ; i write and read yandere and heavy themes stories therefore my list will include both non yandere and yandere stories. yandere stories will be marked with “y”. and if by any chance, any author of any of the fics that i put here, dislike yandere contents, do tell me if you wish to not engage with, and be included in my post ^^’

➸ hint 🔍 ; a - angst || s - smut || f - fluff || y - yandere || tw - heed trigger warnings

o t 7

➸ nexus by @bangtangalicious (s, a, y, casino!au, elite!au, gang/organized crime!au, thriller)

full of questions >:( type of story that makes you go “HUH WHAT” “what.” “omg???” yeah that. story starts with past time and move forward to the present until the day mc was framed for murder.

ongoing series

➸ house of serpents by @smasmashie (s, a, mafia au)

iMMACULATE WRITINGS IDK IDK I JUST LOVE YDK HOW MUCH I LOVE it. not your normal fic >:( this is extraordinary. author writes it with grace, writes it like she owns it >:( (well ofc yeah HSHS) daddy namjoon, kind of like close friend yoongi?, client hoseok, another best friend (kind of) jin, “the guy who lived in the same apartment but never talk with u until one day” taehyung, obsessed little koo who knows u from the past, unhinged jimin (REAL.) lastly, i swear mc is a fuck toy through out the story I FEEL BAD FOR HER

ongoing series

m u l t i p l e m e m b e r s

➸ the art of self-restraint by @scribblemetae (s, f, 4some, maknae-line)

BABY BOY JIMIN. SUB JIMIN. BRAT JIMIN. JIMINNNNNNNNN jimin walks in on mc and tae doing the deeds and min wants to make mc needy for him :(((

oneshot

k i m s e o k j i n

➸ sana by @go1denjeon

oneshot

m i n y o o n g i

➸ paubaya by @go1denjeon (a)

YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE SONG WHILE READING THIS UNTIL THE END. READ THE LYRICS OF THE SONG BECAUSE GOD DAMN IM CRYING AND THIS SONG STILL HAUNTS ME TILL THIS DAY I KID YOU NOT. plus the story just fr, pure angst.

oneshot

j u n g h o s e o k

➸ n/a

k i m n a m j o o n

➸ mistress by @kaiseuphoria (a, s, college au, slow burn)

it’s dilf namjoon we talking about yall. yandere dilf namjoon <33333333

oneshot

p a r k j i m i n

➸ the devil’s own luck by @jimlingss (f, a, s, demon au)

childhood bestfriend jimin! demon that mc accidentally found from a box (yeah a box) and he’s stuck with her forever. and since then mc has a .. well, bad luck.

oneshot

➸ esse tuus by @lavienjin (f, s, office!au, incubus)

incubus jimin. do i need to elaborate? no.

oneshot

➸ in flagrante delicto by @hisunshiine (a, s, f, law firm au, coworkers to lovers)

the title gives it all 🫣 mc needed to partner up with jimin for a case and thats where the rollercoaster began. oh and jimin is a flirt (or manwhore, what the author described)

oneshot

➸ one time thing by @personasintro (s, a)

let’s be honest here. who tf asks your best friend to sleep with your bf just because you don’t feel like it (smtg like that yeah?) lowkey infidelity HAH

ongoing series

➸ come home to me… darling by @roses-ruby (a, s, f, cheating au)

IT HURTS BUT IM A BIG GIRL I CAN READ CHEATING FICS. this hurts SO bad i tell you. read this only if you can handle this (SOUNDS DRAMATIC BUT SHUTUP) i had to pause my reading because the emotion, the pain just zzzssup to my heart p a i n. jimin is the worst of a jerk i kid you not. mc trying her best but this man just steps on everything.

twoshots

➸ love me better by @taegularities (a, f, s, detective au, strangers to lovers)

it’s a push and pull for me </3 between mc and jm. well anyways, started with one night thing but mc and jm ended up working on the same case and everything starts there. ANGST just pure angst. </33 but i l o v e. rid’s work >>>>

oneshot

➸ nectar by @gimmethatagustd (a, f, s, college au, stangers to lovers)

vamps mc and human jimin ;)) YKYK well jimin is a human that enrolls in a vampire uni/college and the human dorms are full so he had to share a room with mc ;) and it goes on.

oneshot

k i m t a e h y u n g

➸ fic 1 by @

➸ fic 2 by @

j e o n j u n g k o o k

➸ STAY by @lolabangtan (a, f, s, college au, roommates au, e2l)

My heart is so soft for this. I live for sub koo and i live for this fic. I love everything about this fic; i can’t put my feelings into words TT. Koo might be (a bit) of an arsehole but i understand him </3. Also this may be bcs of MC’s role as the top/dom but I loved it when she decided to confront koo bcs if it was me i wouldn’t. I love their dynamic too :(( They were literally made for each other <3 I WONT GO ANY DEEPER BUT GIVE SUB KOO A READ this is the best sub koo fic i’ve ever read.

➸ sideshow by @lolabangtan (s, tw: dub con fantasy)

sub koo thats all. do i need to elaborate more? no. this is self explanatory. alr just kidding. it’s mutual pinning ?? THATS ALL I CAN say. mc likes koo, wants to make a move, asked him to be in her camshow and fucked him. (he’s cute i sobbed)

[district2001]

Boyfriend & Bestfriend

Seventeen AU: 14th member

Jangmi x Vernon, Jangmi x NCT Dream

Recap: Jangmi wakes up at an ungodly hour to see a boy she loves, plus her best friend.

Words: 1.2k

AN: Requests are OPEN:

This was meant to be released during Hot Sauce era, but girlie was a bit unorganised and only finished it this week. Also I’ve got my life together so expect weekly oneshots :)

Also also appreciate the numerous NCT song references, and BOYFRIEND REVEAL

Jangmi’s Masterlist

Jangmi slowly closed her shared bedroom door before quietly tip-toeing down the corridor. Her phones torch being used as a guide to not trip over the random jumble of shoes, Lego kits and packages cluttering the hallway.

She turned on the living room light, trying to make as little noise as possible.

“Kim Jangmi”

Her phone dropped from her grasp, and she winced as it hit the hard marble floor.

“What the fuck Vernon” Jangmi whisper shouted, as she bent down to pick up her phone and check for scratches.

Vernon leaned over the kitchen counter, to blow out the candle. He raised his eyebrows as he checked out her outfit. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but that jumper looks familiar?”

Jangmi smirked, as she grabbed a stray black bucket hat which was placed on the tv stand. “Leave it in the bathroom- and it’s mine.” She paused. “Should I be concerned that you’re eating in the dark?”

“Should I be concerned that you’re leaving the dorm at 4:32 in the morning, looking like you’re gonna rob a bank.” Vernon asked, munching on his corn flakes. “Also, I have the candle light. Better for the planet and our wallets”

She laughed sarcastically as she strutted to the kitchen and filled her water bottle with hot water. “What gave it away? The black-on-black outfit or the massive sunnies which cover half my face.”

“I’d rather you sneak out to see your boyfriend, and not that. I don’t think I make enough to bail you out.”

Jangmi reached over and grabbed a spoonful of cereal. “Guess you need to produce more songs then.”

Vernon grabbed his spoon back before handing over one of the reusable masks which were on the counter. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Yeah I know. I know.” Jangmi sighed, putting her mask on. “Go to bed soon. Unless you’re planning on seeing sunrise.”

Vernon muttered something under his breath as she closed the door behind her.

She hopped into Seungcheols’ brother’s old car (which he had gifted for her birthday this year) and popped a piece of chewing gum in her mouth as she drove down the streets of Seoul.

Once she arrived 2 blocks from her destination, she parked her car before whipping out her phone and began typing out a message saying that she’d arrived.

That was until she was rudely interrupted by knocking on the window.

Jangmi scoffed and unlocked the car, letting the two masked figures in the car.

“We have about 5 minutes till the others get here.”

“Could’ve had more but someone arrived a bit late.”

Jangmi turned around so she was facing the back seat. “Oh Fuck off Mark. There was a line at Maccas”

Mark lowered his mask before leaning over to the front and stealing a sip from her chocolate frappe.

She swatted his arm, before offering some of her drink to the boy in the passenger seat who was putting on his seatbelt despite the car being parked.

“Want some?”

“I’d rather kiss you.” And with that comment, Jangmi’s mask was quickly pulled down as her boyfriend gave her a quick peck.

“Listen guys, I know we’re all best friends here but like I’d prefer not sitting at the back when y’all are both sucking face.”

“One kiss Mark. One kiss.” Jangmi laughed, before grabbing her boyfriends’ hand, and placing it on her lap. “I know you’re jealous you’re not getting some but stop ruining the moment.”

“You would be getting some if you went on the blind date I set you up with.”

“Listen, I love you honey. But she was such a horrible pair for Mark. They’re both so busy, they would never find time for each other.”

“Yet he still has time to third wheel our dates…” Her boyfriend mumbled as he began adjusting the review mirror so he could fix up his hair.

“He’s my best friend, what do you expect.” Mark held out his hand for a fist bump, and Jangmi happily obliged. Ignoring the whine from her boyfriend for letting go of his hand. “Canada line for life!”

“You’re not even Canadian!”

“I basically made that groupchat what it is today.”

“Still not as elite as the 2000-line group chat.”

“Do I also need to remind you, I am also apart of that.”

“What’s up with you and joining groupchats you’re not apart of. Honestly.”

Mark reached over to grab another sip of the drink. “Do you both act coupley in that aswell? Cos Jaemin says you both are completely normal.”

Her boyfriend laughed before placing his hoodie over his hair again. “Only you get to see our romance in action.”

“I’d rather not.” Mark grumbled before clapping his hands. “We need to decide what we’re gonna do this weekend.”

“Should we do a movie night?” Jangmi suggested, squeezing her boyfriend’s thigh. “You wanted to watch the ‘To all the boy I loved series’.”

He nodded in confirmation. “Our dorm or yours?”

“Jeno said he wanted to watch it as well” Mark added. “So I think we can do ours?”

“Perfect! I’ll bring the snacks. And definitely some hot sauce.” Jangmi chuckled at her wordplay.

Her boyfriend smiled fondly at her, before pushing some strands of hair out of her face. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“And you’re lucky I love Chenle. That boy is so talented. Do one of you think he would go on a date with me?” She gushed, holding both her hands to her chest.

Her boyfriend grabbed her hands, before peppering them with kisses. “Still love him?” Jangmi couldn’t hold back her smile, her heart overflowing with warmness.

She looked into her lovers eyes, and subconsciously leaned over, with him mirroring her actions. Just when their lips grazed each other, Mark interrupted them by clearing his throat.

“I’m not sorry for interrupting this shit, but the rest of the guys have arrived.” He leaned forward, pushing his groupmate back, and gave Jangmi a very awkward car hug.

“Later loser.” Mark exited the car, giving her a casual salute.

Jangmi watched as he got into the NCT Dream van. Switching the drink to his right hand, as he opened the car door.

“Wait. My Chocolate frappe!” She shrieked, just realising that her drink had gotten stolen.

Her boyfriend laughed, before pecking her lip. “Vote for us today?”

Jangmi went in for another kiss. “When don’t I?”

“Can we call tonight?” He asked, rubbing his thumb up and down her hand.

She nodded, “I think we’re filming a dance practise video. I’ll try my best.”

He pouted before leaning in for another kiss. This one softer and longer than the rest.

Jangmi pulls away, taking a moment to appreciate her boyfriend. She parted his hair to have a clearer view of his sparkling eyes. Her favourite feature.

“Go before they horn us again.” She chuckled. “Also tell Mark he’s an asshole.”

“I don’t understand how you both are best friends” He muttered under his breath, as he unbuckled his seatbelt and readjusted the review mirror back into its original position.

He gave her one last kiss, pulled his hood down over his face and got out of the car.

Jangmi rolled down the passenger window, so he could rest his elbows the window frame.

“I love you Kim Rydel.” He whispered.

Jangmi smiled, before leaning over as far as she could towards the window.

“I love you too. Lee Donghyuck.”

#seventeen #svt #svt au #seventeen au #seventeen 14th member #kpop au #kpop imagine #kpop oc #nct #nct dream #mark lee #haechan #lee donghyuck #seventeen imagine #seventeen oc #Jangmi SVT OC

[thelovelyghostwriter]

Non-anime Asian TV Shows that I liked

This is just a short list of some Asian TV shows I liked, list is not exhaustive. Thank you  @cautionworksstuff​ for encouraging me to do this since you wanted to know more about other foreign TV shows other than anime. 

When I say non-anime, it means shows that are not Japanese animated series. 

1. Kingdom [Netflix] (South Korea)

This series hits HARD. It’s an original Korean Netflix series. Now, there’s a lot of shows/movies that are named “Kingdom”, so let me clear about this one: this is the one that is set with a Zombie apocalypse during the Joseon period. 

It follows the story of the Crown Prince who is being framed for treachery by his evil stepmom (the Empress) and her clan, as soon as his father died. In the midst of that, a disease outbreak happens that turns everyone into zombies, and the Prince struggles to avoid being defeated by the corrupted government officials as well as to save his people from the zombie apocalypse. 

What makes this one stand out from series/movies like The Walking Dead are two things: 1) the political setting - while there is a zombie outbreak, it’s also the battle for power, 2) the historical setting - the guns used here are very limited, and the science/medicine explained behind this outbreak is not like “oh due to biotech experiment gone wrong”, 3) unlike Walking Dead, they actually explained the cause of the illness, the cures and the weaknesses. 

They are going to come up with a new one-episode spin-off(?) this month. 

2. Girl from Nowhere (Thailand) 

This is also available on Netflix. This series follow a character named Nanno, who goes to various schools as the new girl. In the second episode, she’s revealed to be some sort of immortal entity that goes on to expose the sins and wrongful acts of parents, teachers and students. She then punishes them as some form of karma. Beware, some episodes are downright disturbing and only for mature audience. 

I don’t have a confirmation of this, but according to Wikipedia and actress Chicha Amatayakul, the character Nanno draws inspiration from Junji Ito’s Tomie, and the similarities are very obvious. From the way the people react to her, the hairstyle and the even to the beauty mark near the eye, the similarities are very obvious. 

One difference though, I must say, is that Nanno is an extremely charming character as compared to Tomie. You will really root for her and can’t help but like her presence, even if she’s a little scary. When I read Tomie, I didn’t exactly felt the same magnetic pull as Nanno did for me. Season 1 was really good. Season 2 was more brutal but I think Season 1 was slightly better. 

3. Trese (Philippines)

This was actually based on a Filipino comic series, with the same name. I had actually waited for this series to be animated. This series features Filipino supernatural beings. I had always wondered how it’ll be like if there was a cool anime about Filipino mythological creatures, such as the manananngal, aswang, tikbalang etc. I think their designs and stories are interesting and not very talked about in the media. 

I had once complained about this. We have so many interesting Filipino mythological creatures, but why do we focus on mostly drama series on love and family, and not come up with a horror series featuring them? 

This one’s available on Netflix as well, and it’s in three audios: English, Filipino and Japanese. I do recommend the Filipino audio because the pronunciation of the creatures are better. But that might be just me listening to my native language. 

Although, just a tiny criticism - there are only six episodes so far. All in less than 30 minutes. This was an issue for me and also my family who had watched it because we felt the pacing was too fast. They didn’t explain what the creatures were, what they do, which can be confusing for people who are not familiar with the mythology. Yeah, I really think it’s because the pacing was fast due to the small number of episodes. If they slowed down, it would be great. Hopefully we get more episodes the next season. 

4. Meteor Garden (Taiwan) [2001] OR Boys over Flowers (South Korea) OR Hana Yori Dango (Japan) 

This was adapted from a manga called “Hana Yori Dango” (Boys over Flowers). It has been adapted in numerous shows, with Japan doing the first live action film in 1995. 

The one that I had watched is the Taiwanese drama version, Meteor Garden (2001 version). There was also a Korean drama adaptation called “Boys over Flowers”. I didn’t watch that one but quite a number of my friends did. There was also the Japanese adaptation, as well as Thai and Chinese adaptation of it. I can’t say for sure which one is the best because I only remember watching the Taiwanese (2001) version and it’s close to my heart. The Taiwanese (2001), South Korean and Japanese drama versions are often being compared. I’ll let you guys decide based on this information.  

I don’t remember much from the plot, although it was this drama was very hyped back then.

This was the summary on Wikipedia: 

It tells the story of Tsukushi Makino, a girl from a middle class family, whose mother enrolled her in an elite high school to compete with the families from her husband's company. While at Eitoku, she encounters the F4, a gang of four young men who are children of Japan's wealthiest families, and who bully anyone that gets in their way.

5. The Little Nyonya [2008] (Singapore)

Saving the last for the one that resides a special place in my heart, and perhaps for a lot of people in Singapore. 

Words cannot describe how much this was well-liked in Singapore. I remember everyone praising this. This was hands-down one of THE BEST drama ever produced in Singapore. I remember coming home, waiting at I think 8pm? Just to tune into local TV and then watch this show for a good 40minutes. I know they did a remake in China, which I didn’t watch, but I highly recommend the Singaporean version (since it’s the original and the setting is in Singapore/Malaysia anyway). 

This series really introduced the Peranakan culture to the Singaporean audience. I like to think this story has two parts where it follows the story of a Nyonya (Peranakan Chinese woman). 

The first part’s setting is during WW2. Huang Ju Xiang, a woman born into a Peranakan family and her mother was a 2nd wife. Because of her mother’s status, she’s been ostracised by her family and is tasked to do the household like a servant. She meets a Japanese man and yeah, since it’s in the midst of WW2, their love story was kinda “forbidden” too. The first part is actually my favourite. 

The second part follows the story of their daughter, Yue Niang Yamamoto. This story is longer and Yuening has to face the same type of ostracisation her mother had endured by the Huang family. 

#kingdom netflix #girl from nowhere #nanno #trese #meteor garden #boys over flowers #the little nyonya

[weirdfetishes123]

'Why is my Dick Blue' and other Pressing Questions - deviantart

Did your dom leave you with a blue stain that just won’t go away? Are you now waddling around even after hours in the juicing room? Are you now a giant blue ball that hasn’t seen the sun in months and wondering what a cute technician is doing putting this pamphlet in your face? If you answered yes to the first two questions there’s no need to worry, and if you answered yes to the last question, congratulations! You can still read! In this short guide you will find all the answers to your questions on becoming a Permaberry!

There are five levels of Permaberry. They are, in order of severity: Stained, Bloated, City, Chameleon, and Barrel. The first two are the most common and tend to happen on accident. These can occur when a caretaker waits too long to juice his berry, or they can be a planned result in order to “mark” a sub. Depending on the severity they may be able to leave the Studio, or they may be required to stay. City Permaberries are the rarest of the five. These men swell up randomly once a month or even just once a year. This used to require them to stay at the Studio, but now they can lead a normal life with some new lifestyle changes. Chameleon and Barrel Permaberries are only found at Studio 71 or at its other properties. While both are available to everyone, they carry a heavy cost in one way or another. Whichever way you choose to go, know that each Permaberry is only as permanent as you choose to be.

1) Stained.

What it is: This is the most common Permaberry. It is caused when a caretaker waits too long to juice their berry. The time frame, however, varies from person to person. Some have been juiced only after a couple of hours after swelling and have blue stains on their body, while others can wait up to a week to be juiced and come out completely clear.

What to look for: I hoped this would be self explanatory, but in case you didn’t catch on you’re looking for one (1) blue stain on you or your fuck boy’s body. The most common area to look is the groin, ass, and belly. Other places this may appear are the feet, chest, nose, or hands, although these are less common.

How it’s cured:

Well this may be hard for the affected party, but in order to get rid of the stain the affected has to remain celibate for up week at a time. This will allow the residual juices to be concentrated in the semen and make the stain disappear within a week or two. A chastity can be used here to great effect, and in fact this is usually why doms choose to make their subs Stained in the first place. If you didn’t go this route because you’re just an eighteen year old college freshman freaking out because this is the closest thing you have to ever gotten to an STI don’t worry. Even if you orgasm three times a day the stain always goes away on its own, but that would take months rather than weeks. There are no long term effects so calm down you gushy bottom.

2) Bloated

What it is: This is what happens when you leave your berry swollen for over a week. The juice becomes slightly congealed and pools in one part of the body. They may be completely blue, or just the swollen body part may be colored. In either case it’s gonna take a while to get rid of it. This is the second most common Permaberry and they almost always have to stay at the studio

What to look for: You’re looking for stained skin and large parts of the body that slosh when you touch them, other then the ones you’ve paid to see. It normally pools in the ass and belly, but it can also cause the genitals, face, and feet to swell as well. Here's the thing, if you or your date are still blue and sloshing after a 2 hour juicing session that was supposed to be 30 minutes that's a good sign that they or you are now Bloated.

How it’s cured: Buckle-up bucker-roo because you’re in for the long haul. It could take up to a month to get the swelling down. See the thing about a Bloated Berry’s juice is that is more like Jello than fruit juice. It's very stubborn, but it can be diluted with a lot water. And I mean a lot of water. Think ten gallons a day. Basically if you always feel you’re about to piss yourself that means it's working. Now that it is somewhat fluid it can be coaxed out with some basic yoga poses. Studio 71 does offer some classes that are filled with bloated berries so you’ll never be short of company. Don’t worry, the classrooms have plenty of drains on the floor. Everyone after a month or so makes a full recovery, but some lucky bastards get to keep a berry’s legendary flexibility.

3) City

What it is: Are you busy man on the go? Need a vacation? Do you feel so stressed you can just burst? Do you have a strange masochistic desire to make your God Awful existence an oddly sexual nightmare? Then you might, might, become a City Berry. This is the rarest of all the Permaberries and it only affects a baker's dozen around the globe. They have earned their name due to the fact that all of them came from major metropolitan areas before the Studio and continue to reside there. They lead average lives and being a Permaberry doesn’t affect their professional or private life at all. However, about once a month, their stomach starts to gurgle, turn blue and they start to grow. Once that happens they have about an hour to rush home to their Juicing Kit or risk being stuck as a blue ball in public.

What to look for: City Berries look just like anyone else really. There is no way to really separate them from the crowd. However in private, if you’re comfortable with violating their privacy you can look for their juicer, but this isn’t recommend as there is only 14 or so people in the whole world have them. Anyway if they were a City Berry they probably wouldn’t date someone who’s rummaging through their closest like a cracked out raccoon. Come to think of it that is just the response you should expect for everyone who has a working brain stem. Anyway at full size they aren’t any different from the berries at Studio 71. Their juice is slightly more potent however, and while a regular Studio berry might make you shade or so paler, a City Berries juice will definitely turn you blue. In the off chance you find yourself in this situation juice yourself as soon as you can to avoid becoming Stained.

How it’s cured: As of now there is no cure. Some City Berries have had this condition for years, but it hasn’t affected their life terribly. If you do find yourself in this situation you have no need to be nervous or scared.

4) Chameleon

What it is: This is it. The most Exclusive Berry drink at Studio 71. One shot can make you a berry indefinitely, but that's not all. One shot of Studio Elite gives you full control of you transformation. Do you want to be buff? Round? Blueberry? Cherry? A mix of all four? Go for it Champ! A Chameleon can change what shape and color they are at will. It is the ultimate experience of berry inflation, and most are willing to work at the studio for a year just to pay the $10,000 price tag for one shot. As it is nearly all of the staff at Studio 71 are Chameleon’s and are paying back their debt. However there are some lucky sons of bitches who win a monthly drawing to get it for free.

What to look for: Honestly anything. They could be short, tall, skinny, fat, and any color of the rainbow. Just assume that everyone who works at the Studio is one and you’re good to go. Observant guests can even spy one changing from one fruit to another if the pay attention.

How it’s cured: Asking a Chameleon if they want to be cured is like asking a lottery winner if they want to work at McDonald’s. Most don’t want it to end, but if it must there is a drinkable cure which remove the effects. What follows is a standard juicing practice and they are back to normal. As of now there has only been a couple who willingly ended to move on with their life, but more have had the privilege removed for punitive reasons.

5) Barrel

What it is: This is it. The Ride or Die Berry. The drink that turns you into a Barrel is only $20, but the price is in reality much steeper. Like the Chameleon Berry this one comes with its own separate contract. If buy this drink you have to remain in the studio for a minimum of six months. And no that can’t be negotiated down. If you drink the Barrel potion it will change your life forever, and maybe not for the best.

What to look for: You’re gonna look for a giant blue ball that has no idea where it is. That’s because barrels aren’t your run of the mill berry. Oh no, they are the closest to being permanent. See the human body isn’t exactly designed to carry two tons of fluid inside it, so the potion makes some changes. It actually weakens the skeleton in order to get the resources needed to form a cartilage sphere under the berries skin. This new flexible shell now carries the weight. This process removes most human characteristics from the berry’s skin. Their nipples, genitals, and body hair are all removed, in some cases even their hands and feet are absorbed into the body. What’s left is smooth, shiny surface that almost looks like latex. Once the juice passes the blood brain barrier it starts to effect the berry’s mind. First they lose all track of time. If you leave them alone in a room and come back an hour later they will think you only just left. Then comes amnesia. The won’t remember anything from their life before being a berry. Lastly the long term memory process shuts down. Now they believe their entire existence is what is going on around them, nothing more.

Due to the extremity of the treatment paying customers are limited to six months of this treatment. Rule breakers are another story. This is the fate of anyone who breaks Studio 71’s security or the privacy of the guests. They will be a barrel for at least a year, possible many more.

WARNING! All berries CAN and WILL become Barrels if they aren’t juiced in two weeks time! Remember to juice your Berry Boys before the two week mark or you will be forced to join them for their extended visit!

How it’s cured: One word: Juicing. Lots and lots of juicing. There is special machines made for it at Studio 71 that specialize in juicing as Barrels need a long slow juicing process. This ensures a gentle and painless process in which the cartilage sphere its dissolved by the action and the skeleton can reform. The entire process can take weeks, regardless of how long they were a Barrel. Out of all of the Permaberries only half return completely to normal. The rest have permanently stained skin and might even always carry juice in there bodies. The lest common side effects affect the brain. While 90% of all return to their normal selves, 5% gain significant intelligence, while the other 5% never fully recover from the ordeal. If you choose to go down this path think carefully. You may not come out the other end the same.

Well that's it berry boy. Feel better? No? Honestly that sounds like a “you” problem. Look there isn’t really a need to panic about a blue spot or a swollen gut, so sit down, shut up, and I hope you enjoy your stay at Studio 71. Stay Juicy!

[baconpal]

pokemon rant time

this one’s about the 2 new things, and is at least slightly intended for people actually excited/interested in them, click keep reading or perish

Gonna try and keep stuff short cus there's a lot of topics this time and I've already gone off about how pokemon Isn't meant for me or meant to be a good video game anymore, but gamefreak is right back on their bullshit, so I feel I need to at least point it out.

I'd like to preface all this with, if you are a fan of pokemon still, please realize you can ask for more out of this series. Expect perfection, even if you don't think you'll get it anytime soon. Pokemon won't go anywhere, the old games won't go anywhere, and gaming is a hobby, not a necessity; don't accept low quality products from a company just because you feel like you're supposed to.

With this next wave of pokemon games, gamefreak is clearly testing how little they can put in to a $60 game while still keeping the 2 major audiences they've cultivated. By responding to the most obvious and vocal complaints from the community, gamefreak is aiming to make games that seems like what most players want, without having to put in the work on quality products.

GEN 4 REMAKES Pokemon BS (I am not calling this shit BDSP) is intended for the audience that put up with let's go and RS remakes. The most vocal and obvious complaints for these games is their failure as definitive versions of the games they are remakes of, such as missing features/content, or drastically changed story/dialogue/style. In a way, the recent remakes are inferior versions of incredibly old games, which shows a lack of improvement in pokemon as a whole.

To address these issues, BS is very, very, VERY clearly aiming for a more 1-to-1 recreation of the DS games, but with fully 3d graphics. Clearly the map layout has been transferred exactly, and gen 4 already had mostly 3d environments to begin with, and everyone knows about the future-proof pokemon models at this point, so the amount of effort required to create something like this is absolutely minimal. Assuming dialogue, trainer teams, move lists, etc. are also lifted directly from DP, then this game could be developed in basically no time at all, leaving the team time to ensure the product is of decent quality and includes ALL of the content of the originals, if not more, like the earlier pokemon remakes did to ensure they were truly definitive versions of the games. That being said, it is unlikely the team behind BS has been making use of this saved time to improve the game.

One failing already clear is that the quality is not very good, at least graphical quality. The footage we have shows environments lacking in color compared to the original, with messy, unpleasant textures that contrast poorly with the simplistic environments. The characters especially do not work. As cute and fun the fanart of tiny dawn has been, BS dawn and all other characters look awful. They have gorilla arms that reach down to the floor and lifeless faces, as well as incredibly stiff/simplistic animations. As it stands, BS is a visually inferior game to DP, though most consumers will simply see it as 3D>2D without any understanding of what an artstyle is, so this might not be a problem for many, but that doesn't mean you should accept it.

What remains to be seen is what content will be added/missing from pokemon BS. It is very possible that massive parts of the game, such as the underground, variety of online modes, postgame areas, and content from platinum could be missing entirely. We also do not know if pokemon from after gen 4 will be worked into the region, or even supported. Gen 8 still currently does not support a large number of pokemon, and the remakes may continue this limited dex trend.

Even assuming the remake includes everything from the DS games and doesn't add anything that slows down the story or harms the experience, it will still only be an exercise in forced obsolescence. The main reason people can't really play DP still is that the online isn't supported anymore. If BS turns out to be exactly the same as DP, then you're buying the same game for at a higher price, only to play it until the online service goes away again, or the next game comes out, if both don't happen at the same time.

Don't let yourself buy a 13 year old game at twice the original price.

GEN 4 NOT-REMAKE KIND OF NEW THING On to legends now, gamefreak is targeting the people who put up with sun/moon and sword/shield. The obvious problem with those games to most people was simply a lack of change from the standard pokemon formula. Even when changing the gyms to trials or stadiums, most people still understand that the format and story structures are mostly unchanged. Of course, this problem has seemingly been addressed by changing the game structure a fair bit, but almost entirely by removal.

Trainer battles, and by extension, gyms and tournaments/elite 4 have been confirmed to be absent, meaning all battles are only vs single pokemon, in spite of the player likely having a team of 6 pokemon. Even if battle difficulty is increased to compensate (doubtful), this will still drastically increase the simplicity of combat and make it even less likely for the game to include any meaningful challenge. Exploring towns and meeting NPCs is also seemingly missing, as the game is confirmed to have only a single village, which frankly looks incredibly boring and we've yet to see a single NPC inhabiting the village.

Battles now use an ATB format instead of a turn-based format (for those of you who don't know what that means, it basically means nothing, it's still turn based, it just means the speed state determines who gets more turns instead of who goes first, that's it), but beyond that there seems to be no noteworthy changes, pokemon learn 4 moves with limited PP, type advantage will still definitely be the most important aspect to battle, and the player being able to walk around during battle provides no meaningful impact. While the little dash the pokemon do to approach each other is cool, it is already a sign that gamefreak will not be addressing the issue of lacking animations for pokemon battles, as they can't even be assed to animate and program pokemon walking around the environment during combat, and lucario doing 1 kick for a move described as a series of punches isn't a great sign either.

On the topic of lacking animations, the new "pet simulator feature" for legends seems to be an advancement on the ride system from sun/moon, which presumably people missed from sword/shield. Being able to ride on your pokemon to do stuff sounds cool, but in all likelihood, this system will be limited to only a select few pokemon who will each do a select few actions, and is not a reasonable replacement for all the other pet raising features that have been removed in the past. Similar to BS, the total number of pokemon included may also be limited arbitrarily, in spite of the fact that no new pokemon need to be added, as these games are not claiming to be a new generation.

The largest issues I personally have with this new game is the horrible technical quality and gameplay quality shown in the initial trailer. Unfortunately, these types of problems seem to be difficult to explain to the average consumer, even though the issues seem incredibly obvious and inexcusable to people like me.  Most people were able to understand the problem with the berry trees in gen 8, because it was easy to explain, "this tree doesn't look like the other trees, and it sticks out, isn't that weird?", and so gamefreak has eliminated any immediately obvious issues like that, sticking with a very consistent artstyle for legends, making it almost impossible to easily explain its faults to the average pokemon fan.

People have been really quick to compare legends to BoTW; the game that invented grass, trees, and mountains. In spite of these comparisons, nobody seems to point out that legends looks dramatically worse than that almost 5 year old game from the previous generation. Plants are stiff and lacking in energy, draw distances are poor, colors are drab, and textures are messy. Many parts of legends seems to ape BoTW on just the surface, essentially just following market trends. Even the controls seem to follow after modern 3rd person shooters/stealth games, including a seemingly pointless roll and a clunky looking ball lobbing arc that feels unfun before even getting to play it myself.

The largest issue, painfully obvious to some, and impossible to explain to others, is the framerate. The trailer clearly was ran on actual switch hardware, and not prerendered, which would be a good mark for gamefreak if it didn't result in a trailer that never once hit 30fps. Even with empty fields, with only 1 or 2 characters on screen, the game was incapable of meeting the target speed, and had to resort to optimizations like reducing the frame rate of pokemon only inches away from the player to stop-motion levels of choppy. If situations with almost nothing going on result in slow-down, how will the game perform during actual gameplay? Even though slow-down is something everyone can feel, many people aren't capable of identifying it.

The major things to wait and see for legends is if the removed aspects of the series are made up for by some additional systems or content, and definitely wait to see if the performance improves. As with BS, preordering a game like this only shows that gamefreak only has to market the game by saying it's different, not improved, like they've been doing for years now.

TL;DR FUCK GAMEFREAK One major thing of note is that gamefreak is releasing 2 games based on gen 4 at the nearly the same time, meaning they have no obligation to design new pokemon or even include pokemon not from sinnoh, and also that the sales of each game can be used as an indicator for which of their 2 audiences is more loyal to them. Both BS and Legends are in a position to be pushes aside if they fail, but if either succeeds, gamefreak can continue in the direction of the more successful game and reap the benefits, without any need to innovate, improve, or adapt to criticism.

The last thing I feel I have to remind people about is that gamefreak is a company; you don't need to be "grateful" to them. I've seen that word thrown around far too much by people who seem to buy pokemon games like its a tax, and not something they want to do. You don't have to suck up to a company that made games you liked as a kid if the games aren't what you want anymore. Pokemon is so wildly successful that it can't possible die, so don't buy the games out of pity, or out of some feeling of obligation. Buy the video games you want to play and nothing more.

Basically, if you are considering getting any of these new games, please wait until the games are out before purchasing them, and decide for yourself if they are worth your money, and more importantly, your time. Preordering these games only lets gamefreak know their audience will buy and put up with anything. They have no real competition at the moment, so the only thing the audience can do to encourage improvement is show some of restraint.

#juvenile rant #pokemon #if you read all that then good job cus jesus that got long #please just respect yourself #you deserve better games #you arent weird for wanting things to be good #anyway have a good night

[fandumbstuff]

The Star Wars Saga, ranked best to worst.

1. The Empire Strikes Back Directed by Irvin Kershner

Upon close consideration, I’ve come to the shocking conclusion that Empire is the best Star Wars film. There’s a wealth of world-building and character development here that in many ways makes Star Wars the living breathing universe it is now. A richly complex melodrama lies at the heart of Empire, giving a whole new meaning to the term “space opera”. The performances here are some of the strongest in the entire franchise. Mark Hamill not only fleshes out Luke’s character, but in his training with Yoda and his duel with Vader he establishes the profound nature of the force, and how every future character interacts with it. As Han and Leia, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher create authenticity to their characters’ relationship. Often misinterpreted as playfully hostile or sassy, there’s a real and endearing sense of affection between them, particularly in the infamous “I love you”/”I know” line- shedding their previously petty flirtation and affirming their true feelings. The emotional crux of Empire lies not in the most memorable twist, but in the moments immediately following it - In Luke and Leia reaching out to each other, reconnecting a relationship that was lost, rekindling hope in the force after we thought it was lost.

2. A New Hope  Directed by George Lucas

I’ll be the first in line to make fun of dorky George Lucas and his woeful attempts at writing dialogue or romance. However, it’s pretty damn impossible to ignore what he achieved with Star Wars in 1977. The sheer audacity of his vision and his determination in executing it despite the naysaying from producers and supposed friends. Lucas had the bold idea of using cinema for it’s absolute worth- more than just a storytelling medium but a theatrical one. A cacaphony of sight and sound that could draw mass audiences and create a lasting impression. It’s a formula that every Hollywood and Bollywood blockbuster strives and more often than not fails to follow. It’s hard to dissociate A New Hope from the cultural phenomenon it helped create, but when you do, it stands as an impressive film on it’s own. Groundbreaking in terms of it’s visual effects and nostalgic in the simplicity of it’s sci-fi serial story, Star Wars ticked all the right boxes for so many people. If I was to boil Star Wars down to an essence, i think it lies in 2 scenes: Luke looking out at the binary sunset on Tattooine, and Han Solo yahooing after the Falcon saves Luke in the Death Star trenches. Those two scenes, Wistfulness and Exuberance, are the two sides of one concept- Adventure. Star Wars ignited those emotions in every child’s imagination, and it’s a flame that’s likely to never go out. 

3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Directed by Gareth Evans

Hard to believe this is a Disney movie. While the house of mouse may have a reputation for emotional gut punches in kids movies, it’s never felt quite so... permanent. Rogue One is an unrelenting emotional journey barelling towards surefire tragedy. We spend moments with characters that seem to be carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. The sense of desperation that permeates the movie almost overpowers any sense of heroism. It’s so unlike anything we’ve seen in a Star Wars movie. Their courage comes from a place that is wholly genuine and believable. We see the rebellion for the despondent group that they are. Sorely outnumbered by the Empire, their actions in this movie show a reckless, darker side to them and makes the morality of Star Wars so much more complex. The first time we meet Cassian Andor- the stand out performace of the film by Diego Luna- we see him kill another rebel to protect their secrets. It’s a movie that reframes the original Star Wars trilogy, making it a richer, complex universe and more intriguing as a result. Also, the last five minutes might be the best five minutes in any Star Wars movie.

4. Return of the Jedi Directed by Richard Marquand

The one sore spot in the original trilogy for me are the Ewoks. I realise it's ridiculous for me to complain about kid-friendly creatures in a kid's movie, but Star Wars has done this a lot more tolerably in the form of Porgs and Baby Yoda. Just something about these furry, Tibetan speaking monsters who somehow have the wherewithal to defeat an elite and well equipped empire rubs me the long way. Anyway, other than that, the movie's pretty fantastic. The culmination of Luke's journey comes to a head in an extremely emotional and effective climax. John Williams score crescendos to operatic heights and Mark Hamill's stellar performance sells Luke’s torment. It’s also worth noting that in those final moments of moral dilemma, Darth Vader is silent- it’s David Prowse’s performance entirely that sells this. His incredible presence throughout the trilogy builds to this moment and you can feel the weight of it in those closeups on Vader. Every other cast member rounds the story out perfectly- from Lando and Han’s playful rapport to Leia’s more militaristic side in planning the rebellions final moves. I still bemoan the fact that they changed the final song- an opinion that I’m apparently a minority on- but it’s a pretty incredible ending altogether and wonderfully cathartic to watch over and over again.

5. The Last Jedi Directed by Rian Johnson

With Last Jedi, Rian Johnson analyzed the universe Star Wars inhabits, and what drives it’s characters. The characters that we love are pushed to their limits, struggle against insurmountable odds and their own innate flaws. And we see all of them fail in turn. It is remarkably bleak, but not without purpose. It is out of this failure that the Resistance needs to recoup and come back stronger. The performances here, are arguably the best you’ll find in the entire franchise. Daisy Ridley has to break down Rey’s naivete and find a deeper sense of self actualization. Adam Driver hands in some of his best work, by swerving the audience into believing Kylo Ren and then creating a desperate plea in THAT throne room scene, and eventually turning him into a snivelling villain, all in the same movie. Mark Hamill’s performance here is heartbreaking- revealing the bleakest version of Luke, and struggling to find his redemption. Last Jedi is a bold deconstuction of these characters, of what they stand for, and what makes Star Wars beautiful.

6. The Force Awakens Directed by J. J. Abrams

In many ways, a safe movie to announce the return of Star Wars. But it’s hard to fault this. Disney’s decision making was shrewd here, bringing on J. J. Abrams to pay homage to George Lucas’ original vision, returning the franchise to it’s roots of practical effects and shooting on film. There was something truly special about experiencing this film in theatres, so much so that I did it eleven times. It captured a sense of wonder for fans new and old- hearing the scream of Tie Fighters, John Williams herald the return of the Millenium Falcon, and the look of awe on Rey’s face as she clutches her destiny in her hand. I’ll be honest, the film loses some of this magic without the shared experience of an audience, and it’s flaws are more noticeable. But being swept up in the excitement of adventure felt so darn good in 2015, and that’s so key to this franchise.

7. Revenge of the Sith Directed by George Lucas

This movie has risen so much in my opinion, entirely due to the animated Clone Wars series. Revenge of the Sith depicts the overwhelming tragedy that frames the original Star Wars. Watching Clone Wars explains explicitly what makes this film so tragic. But it’s more than that- it’s a catastrophic failure on behalf of the Jedi Order. Ignorance and pride allow evil to fester and grow. George Lucas took the simplicity of the moral struggle he established in 1977 and tried to give it depth and complexity with the prequels, and it pays off in Revenge of the Sith. It leads into the original trilogy quite brilliantly, with a promise of hope and resilience.

8. The Phantom Menace Directed by George Lucas

It has not aged well. While the advent of CGI I’m sure felt exciting at the time, and you almost can’t fault George Lucas for his insistence on staying at the forefront of VFX innovation as he has always done, it’s his reliance on so much of it that fails horribly. Like a kid in a candy store, Lucas stuffs the pockets of this film with so many bizarre effects for absolutely no reason. That sea monster scene is one of the worst displays I’ve ever seen and it’s absurd that it sits in a Star Wars film. Add to that the boring political plotline and ridiculous midichlorian dilemma and there’s very little redemptive about this film. However, it does have podracing, and Duel of the Fates, and it’s remarkable how much that salves the wound.

9. The Rise of Skywalker Directed by J. J. Abrams

Alright, well obviously this film has been problematic. However, I’m not about to bemoan the idea that Disney has ruined Star Wars and I have nothing left to live for. So let’s all just calm down. Ultimately J. J. Abrams was faced with the impossible task of wrapping up the Skywalker saga, with very few Skywalkers to work with. I firmly believe this would have been a very different film if Carrie Fisher was around to complete her performance. But left with nothing but the new cast, Abrams is caught between summing up the past while also looking to the future. It forces an awkward plotline with Palpatine- despite Ian McDiarmid's solid performance, the writing here seems wildly derivative of the franchise. There are some truly beautiful scenes, most notably the chemistry that Adam Driver gets to share with Harrison Ford, and Joonas Suotamo’s critically emotional outburst as Chewbacca. Some of the production design and score is so entirely different from the rest of the franchise it's inherently intriguing. But there’s very little here to save some of the poorer choices the film makes: the open plot hole with Finn, the derailing of Rey’s character development, and most crucially, the deeply perturbing culmination of Rey and Kylo’s relationship. The audience literally went “ew”.

10. Solo: A Star Wars Story Directed by Ron Howard

The biggest problem with Solo is that it operates under the presumption that people will be enamoured and invested in it. Not just in one movie, but in an entire series of movies. Solo clearly operates as a setup for further sequels. As a result, many plot lines remain unresolved, and Qi’ra winds up being a completely under-baked character. Her motivations make no sense, and a twist ending that I assume was supposed to be exciting is instead downright confusing. There’s a lot of unnecessary exposition into Han’s past too. As an origin story, I don’t need to know every aspect of Han’s past- especially not cute winks at inane things like “Why’s he called Solo?”. All this being said, The movie features some solid performances- Donald Glover is expectedly phenomenal as Lando, and Alden Ehrenreich excels as Solo, adding some welcome flavour to the character- particularly his friendship with Chewbacca, and a brilliantly executed final scene between him and Woody Harrelson’s Beckett.

11. Attack of the Clones Directed by George Lucas

How in the world this film made it all the way to production and into filming, with no one pulling Lucas aside and saying “Hey George, those kids have no chemistry” is beyond me. And I’m not going to blame Hayden Christensen or Natalie Portman on this one, because the whole damn love story makes no sense. Maybe falling for a dude who admits he murdered women and children isn’t such a great idea? Then there’s the increasingly convoluted political climate set up in Phantom Menace, and the machinations of the dark side that would take the entire Clone Wars series to fully explain. All this being said, Temuera Morrison, Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan MacGregor AND Christopher Lee are all in this movie. And they’re pretty damn fantastic.

12. The Clone Wars Directed by Dave Filoni

It’s inexplicable that Dave Filoni would go on to have a hand in some of the best Star Wars content ever made in Clone Wars, Rebels and the Mandalorian. And yet he got his start in the franchise by putting up this piece of junk. And junk is being a little generous. The humour is so juvenile it’s insulting to even the youngest of audiences it’s intended for. The plotline feels way to thin to warrant a feature film, and if this was in fact intended as a pilot for the TV series, they sure picked to most uninteresting story to pique our interest. Skip the movie, watch the show. 

#the empire strikes back #star wars #the clone wars #attack of the clones #the rise of skywalker #kylo ren #ben solo #han solo #leia organa #luke skywalker #1977 #george lucas #j j abrams #john williams #revenge of the sith #darth maul #the phantom menace #the return of the jedi #the force awakens #the last jedi #solo a star wars story #rogue one #a star wars story #the mandalorian #dave filoni

[verdantspringcourtyard]

Revolving Realm of Sin Event

A new 2-week long event that coincides with the release of SP Menreiki. It's a relatively simple event that consists of 2 main parts; tower climbing and a draft duel type activity. The former only lasts for 1 week, while the latter lasts for 2 weeks

Tower Climbing

(sorry, don't know how to translate the name of this so it's just gonna be called Tower Climbing here)

Defeat Menreiki bosses and unlock some server rewards. Costs 1 event AP to do or 5 AP to do with no event currency drops, it's solo only, there's no time limit and can be done on auto. When entering this part for the first time, can pick your preferred drop type (evo, gold, EXP or souls) and can also pick a support shiki. Drops are pretty much the same in all the stages and between stages 5-10 there's only a difference of 4000 for event currency (s5 gives ~4000, s10 gives ~9000). The support shiki feature lets you borrow another person's shiki, however, the selection you can choose from is random. When a support shiki gets borrowed a lot, the owner of said shiki will get some rewards. Only people with 16 or more 6* shiki can put one up for borrowing.

Every time you defeat a boss within 10 turns a new stage will be unlocked, there are a total of 10 stages of increasing difficulty. Also after defeating a boss you may notice a bar on the left side of the screen. Depending on whether you can defeat bosses in more/less than 10 turns, you'll move faster/slower up the bar. If you move fast you'll out run Menreiki, if you move too slow she catch you. There doesn't seem to be any benefit or penalty to this.

There are some entire server rewards that include; some gold, 100 AP, 30 mochi, 4* white daruma, 50 gold orochi scales, a SP Menreiki chat sticker, special realm card and 1 blue summon ticket. Rewards are unlocked by getting a shadowy eye item from defeating bosses, can get an amount equal to the stage difficulty (s10 gives 10 eyes).

Buffs

Before challenging the boss, you may notice a mask icon for some buffs. The masks can be obtained by defeating bosses or by buying them from the exchange shop, max you can get is 100. The buff effects are;

10: Ally with the highest crit DMG has a 60% to gain another turn with reduced onibi cost for skills.

30: Increases ATK by 1500 and crit by 15%, excess crit will be converted into crit DMG.

50: After an ally moves, have a 100% chance to get 2 onibi.

70: Single target (and random target) damage also deals 15% splash damage.

100: Increases damage dealt in the 1st 3 turns by 30%/20%/11%.

The masks also provide 1% ATK and 1% DEF buffs per 1 mask. It caps out at 100%.

Courtyard of Reincarnation

dThis is a fun draft duel type activity where you make your way through randomly generated stages. Requires 1 key to play through 1 stage, when you have no keys can use 20 AP instead but you won't get any event currency. Before starting, you must pick 7 shiki to use in your current playthrough. In each stage, you must make your way through various branching rooms that all lead to the Menreiki boss at the end. There are 4 room types;

Boss: Fight against a random drafted team. Upon winning you will be presented with 3 choices; take 1 of the enemy team's shiki, receive extra exclusive currency or take the enemy's buff.

Elite Boss/End Boss: Same as regular bosses but with a boss Menreiki.

Random Encounter: Will be given a random offer that you can take or decline. Offers include; replace 1 of your shiki with ? shiki, take a ? buff, take a ? summonable shiki or evo a shiki.

Shop: Can purchase items from a random selection with the Courtyard's unique currency. Every shop has 5 shiki, 3 buffs, 1 summonable shiki, "evo a shiki" option and a revive item.

After clearing a stage you will be presented with 3 choices; continue (requires 1 key or 20 AP), take a break or quit (progress will be reset). With every stage cleared, the enemy stats will be gradually increased. If you get defeated by a boss and have no revives, your current playthrough will end and your progress will be reset.

When it comes to picking shiki for your draft team, it's important to pay attention to their passive marks. Every shiki has 2 passive marks, when your team has 2 or more of the same mark, the passive effects for it will be unlocked. It's best to make a team with 5 of the same mark.

The best teams on CN test server were the Kinnara + Peach&Karashi team, SP Ubu team and full 5 N frog teams. In the later stages, a reviver shiki may become necessary.

Far and Wide Corridors

This is an Ibuki/Talisman Pass type thing. There are 2 sets of rewards, top row is F2P and bottom row is P2W. The cost to unlock the bottom row is 68 s-jade (CN price). Rewards are unlocked by getting EXP from the tower climbing and Courtyard of Reincarnation, need a total of 700 EXP to unlock everything. A max of 100 EXP from tower climbing and 60 EXP from the Courtyard can be farmed every day. The EXP is not a drop so you need to check this part of the event to see how much you have.

Rewards for the top row include; gold, 100 AP, gold orochi scales, 2 3* pamphlets, 2 black daruma shards, 4* white daruma and an animated icon frame. Rewards for the bottom row include; a bunch of event AP, 500 AP, 100 demon souls, 2 5* EXP pamphlets, 10 black daruma shards, 5* white daruma and a new realm skin.

It is not possible to get the new realm skin without spending money.

Exchange Shop

The exchange shop has 3 tabs. The first 1 is unlocked by default, while the 2nd and 3rd tabs become unlocked after accumulating a total of 1-2 mill event currency. The most notable items are:

Tab 1: an animated icon frame, a loading screen illust (same as the one in the prelude event), 2 SP Menreiki chat stickers, 1 blue summon ticket, 3* white daruma, a bunch of items for the event that refresh daily.

Tab 2: a new loading screen illust, 2 SP Menreiki chat stickers,1 blue summon ticket, 6* transfer ticket, 4* white daruma, 50 jade.

Tab 3: random SSR/SP, a black daruma, new Hakuzousu skin, new loading screen illust, 2 SP Menreiki chat stickers, 5* white daruma, 50 jade, shiki shard event pack, guaranteed 6* soul event pack, daruma/AP event pack and a realm card/jade event pack.

Each event pack can be bought a max of 200 times.

If you want to farm for a lot of event currency, you will need to buy the event AP for the tower climbing and farm that during the week it is available. Although you can get event currency from the draft duel Courtyard, it's not optimal for farming due to be being really slow and having no auto.

Recommended Teams

Tower Climbing

The first 3 teams require targeting, while the last 2 teams are full auto. Minimum SPD to move before enemies is 124.

Note for beginners: on test server, the moment you cleared a stage with a support shiki, they were automatically removed from your team. In other words, support shiki could not be used to farm this part of the event.

#Onmyouji #Onmyoji #events #might not be the most exciting event #but at least the draft duel stuff is fun